Woman Ready to Pay Off 30-Year Mortgage – Until Her Bank Gets in the Way
The Client’s Story
Paying off one’s mortgage is a positive step in most people’s lives – unless the mortgage company mishandles the final payment and refuses to fix its’ mistake.
On the brink of paying off her 30-year mortgage, our client had made her monthly payments online, always on time. However, when preparing to make her final mortgage payment, she found that her payoff was less than her regular payment – $1,000 instead of $1,400 – and the bank refused to draw the final payment automatically because of the discrepancy. Our client promptly requested a payoff amount, and the lender agreed to get back to her but never followed up. By the time she received a payoff number, a month had passed, and according to the mortgage company, her payment was 30 days late.
The Challenge
Our client planned to stay in her house and do $300,000 worth of renovations, so she hired an architect, entered into an agreement with a contractor, and began to pursue financing. As soon as her old lender reported that she was 30 days late on her final mortgage payment, she was denied funding. Since everything was out of the house to prepare for the whole house renovation, she did not want to scrap her plans. To keep the process going, she subsequently withdrew all the money out of her 401(k), but because she still could not get financed, she could not repay the loan and incurred significant penalties and interest. She tried to dispute the default on her own but to no avail.
The Blankingship & Christiano Solution
By the time this client came to us, her damage was significant. She sent new dispute letters to the credit reporting agencies, but nobody would take it off her report or correct an obvious mistake. We then brought litigation on her behalf against Experian, TransUnion, Equifax, and the mortgage servicer. As a result:
- Our client’s credit report was fixed
- She received compensation for her damages
- Her legal fees were paid
- She qualified for a loan to pay back her 401(k
- She obtained funding to finish the renovations on her home.
The system might have been seriously flawed, but we used our expertise to get all her issues resolved, something our client would never have been able to do independently.
Think Little Guys Have No Recourse? Think Again
Does this scenario sound all too familiar? You’ve made the calls, written the credit dispute letter, jumped through all the hoops, but nothing is getting resolved. Now you’re feeling frustrated, wondering what your next step ought to be. Contact the Virginia fair credit lawyers at Blankingship & Christiano P.C. online or call 571-313-0412 and get Tom and Hugo’s help today.
