Complaint Review: Vanderbilt Mortgage - First Home Insurance - Maryville Tennessee

My husband and I have owned a 2001 Holiday Special mobile home financed with Vanderbilt since October of 2001. We have never been late with a payment and more often than not pay well before our actual payment is due.

In past years this company has called us exceedingly telling us that our payment hasn't made it in and that we owe late fees. Well, I would like to see that one explained since we pay our payment at the lot we bought our home from and it always goes in the "same exact night" we drop it off at the Clayton Home Center where we live. They even threatened us with foreclosure at one point saying they hadn't received a payment from us for 2 months. Being bullied by this company my husband and I did a "quick collect" to the company for those two "Missing" payments, and low and behold when they called us a couple of weeks later, they had mysteriously found the two missing payments and were remitting us a check for a refund of the two additional payments we sent them. This was after we had talked to a customer service rep and informed them that we were getting an attorney.

Also, since we first bought our home... our payment was $459. Now.... it's $624 a month. They have raised our payment almost $200 over the last few years $30 and $40 at a time. Each time I call them, I get a different "educated" rep on the phone who talks to me in circles and transfers me to this department and that department with no one ever claiming responsibility or explaining why our payment has been increased.

On July 26th, our home was hit by a tree during the storms that were coming through the area we live in. Since then, I've had a field rep out to look at the damage and estimate it at $3900. But, I have had 3 different contractors out that have told me that the damage to our home was in excess of $19,000... each of these three contractors are within $1800 of each other. They all three told us that our home was unsafe to be in because the tree has knocked it off the foundation and the front part of our home could actually fall.

I called our insurance rep with this information. He was rude and uncaring and talked to me like all this was MY fault. He stated on 08-03-2007 that he could give us $20.00 per day in living exenses for 30 days and that's all he could do for us. That's a whole $600!! He said that included storage cost for us to move everything out of our home and store it to keep it from being damaged and it also included shelter. Well, so far we haven't seen that check and we were supposed to receive it Monday. Haven't heard from the insurance rep either.

I spoke with someone within the Clayton home family today who feels we have been treated unfair. He couldn't believe the way we have been treated when I first told him and he checked into some things himself. Upon checking he called us back and advised us to get the state fire marshalls office out as soon as possible, and also to get the county home inspector out here. He said they are the ones who can help me more than anyone right now. He also advised that we get an attorney. He is appalled by the way we have been treated, and my husband and I are too.

I will keep this updated as we move along in our saga with this corporation. Anyone with any advice or a good attornies name within the state of Tennessee, please feel free to let me know.

Melissa

Harriman, Tennessee

U.S.A.