Citi Mortgage Giving Wrong Info?!?

[xtroublex]

First off, thank you so much for creating this forum. It is a very needed service!

I started my communications with Citi Mortgage back in May. I received a call on June 12th from rep Cresta and was told that I would start a "Trial Payment" period and I needed to make payments in the amount of almost half my normal payment as of July 1st.

She also advised me that I would be receiving paperwork to sign in 7-14 days. Well, I received my paperwork closer to the 28 day mark and the documents inside stated that my trial period starts Sept 1st and goes through Dec 1st.

My concern was what about the payments I was asked to make for July and August? I spoke to a Michael Bennett who seemed only interested in telling me to go by what my paperwork said and would not discuss the fact that the rep was advised to tell me to make these payments starting in July.

What is really going on? Is this program a total scam? Is Citi Mortgage truley trying to proccess these things? Anyone else have similar experience?

[langlang]

I highly doubt you are being 'scammed'. But with these big banks and all the foreclosures and mod applications, oftentimes the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing.

Is Cresta part of the LoanSafe team? (did you call the special Citi phone number for LoanSafe members?) If not, perhaps you should try giving them a call. They seem much more knowledgeable about the entire process, and may be able to look over your account and figure out what the deal is.

[xtroublex]

Originally Posted by langlang

.

Is Cresta part of the LoanSafe team?

No, she is very nice and is only doing what she is advised. She is with the loss mitigation team. Michael Bennett is the supervisor I spoke with (also on the loss mitigation team) and he was kind of a jerk.

I have not called the special number as I was not sure the protocol for that. (IE didn't want to abuse it and ruin it for someone else ) I will call them and will report what happens. Thank you for responding.

X

[xtroublex]

Thanks langlang for recommending I call that phone number! I spoke with a very nice guy named Derick who took the time to explain everything and reassure me that all was ok.

Thanks again!

X

[flowergirl110]

It was explained to me that the actual mortgage backer (Freddie, Fannie or whomever) is the one who changes the date that is on the paperwork, even though Citi's own notes might reflect differently. I don't think your situation sounds unusual, mine was moved from May to June to July for my first payment, but all is going soothly right now.

[sammy729]

I was also confused about when to make my payment. We were told we qualifyed in June and our first payment was due July 21 no problem right ,then first week in July we recieved the mod documents from citi saying my first payment was due on Aug 13 and our payment was 450.00 less then they said,confused again so i called sergio and he told me to disregaurd the paper work and send my payment of what he quoted me on the 21 of July and also some of the docs are going out without adding escrow that is why my payment was less, anyway we still were unsure as to what to do because every time i asked sergio to send me something in writing he said i cant and to just trust him. So still uneasy i called loss midigation and spoke to someone there who was nice enough to go over the docs with me and instructed me to go by what the paperwork says and follow that plan,also if there is a problen at least i have the paperwork to prove when my payments are due ,so that is what we are doing .Anyone out there that is as confused as we were I say if you have docs to back you up then go for it. Wish me good luck on this journey i am about to take.

[flowergirl110]

Good Luck! I agree, don't send them anything other than what the papers say.

[aubie37]

XtroubleX,

I am having mutliple letters sent to me and each one carries a different amount. As no one has been "assigned" to my account in well over a month and a half now I have not signed any. I was on a special forbearance plan, paid those payments by the first for all of the months covered, and when my month of review rolled around my account was conveniently now not assigned as the negotiator is no longer working FHA loans. Again, I have signed none of their new letters as each one has a different amount I am due. CitiMortgage has a bunch of people who seem to understand very little about payments, posting, and what is going on when they are deemed the powers to make these decisions. I hate this for anyone who has never worked in lending to try to deal with these people. Cathryn Lemons in loss mitigation has one of the worst attitudes there I have come across.

[nickiej]

I am also in the same boat, just approved for the HAM program although I was told I should been approved last week after making 3 calls last week and being told that I was almost approved, but they were just waiting for the (BPO) appraisal to come in. However, I just decided to call again this week just in case and was told that Citimortgage no longer does the outside appraisals as of July 13th (what?) why wasn't I told that on the last (3) calls so I grilled her and then grilled her some more until she told me look some people I hate to say it just don't do there job becuase if they did they would have took the extra step and saw what I see on my screen now that your approved and that the reason there is no outside appraisal is becuase it comes in through the computer now as of July 13th. ( I said to myself no kidding on the right hand not knowing what the left hand is doing) So she approves me gives me my date which is Aug. 14th and I say wait a minute I thought it was 30 days after approval and she said yes you applied in June we changed the appraisal policy on July 13 which made you approved with appraisal so we start from July 14th. Nice that they told the person that would be making the payment which is me. So I am like its now the 22nd and had I not called until next week then I would have been asked to turn a payment around fairly quickly. Then she said well to be honest and some of the reps there tell people and some don't that you can really wait for your paper work becuase that is the real dates when payments are due and that the money just sits in unapplied funds until then so I should wait for the paperwork and then send the payment based on those dates becuase those are the official dates that come out after they submit my acceptance of the program through the computer which then starts the process of the paperwork that goes out.

So I am keeping my fingers crossed and of course calling today to verify, but from what I am hearing it seems that people who have paid and then got the paper work the days have been different. I think i will still send the 14th though unless I get my paperwork before then, I don't know because she told me it takes up to 30 days now so I am thinking my date will probably be around Sept 1 or Sept 14th but I think I will send it in before then just in case.

[aubie37]

Nicklej,

I have paid without the agreement. I do not want any reason to not be considered but I am also not signing something that cannot possibly be correct either. My account history which they did mail me clearly shows how they have applied payments.

[nickiej]

Thanks Aubie37 that is what I was thinking if I listen to her and not pay someone else will go by that date and say that I disqualified myelf, I mean it wouldn't be the first time I got different information I talked to three people last week and none of them told me about the appraisal thing. So I think I will do like you said and pay, if its early then so be it at least its in. Thanks!

[sammy729]

I also was told when to send my payment it was july 21 ,this was back in june .I didnt recieve my paperwork so I asked when It would be sent and was told it could take 30-45 days and to make the payment on july 21,aug 21, sept21.Well the 15 of june I logged on to my citi account and it said my loan docs had been sent and when I call citi it says the same thing,so I called the person handling my account that my loan docs have been sent and he said no they were not.Well sure enough they were but I got them 2 weeks later , also the payment date was different it stated that my payments were to start on aug 13, and when I called him he said he wanted to see them,now im thinking somethings wrong,so I faxed them to him ,took him a week to call me back he said everything looks good and to send my payments on what the paper says.But if i didnt recieve the paperwork before my payment was due I would of sent it in,better to be safe then sorry.Im sure when you get your paperwork it will say a different date ,but at least you will be ahead of the game.Good Luck

[langlang]

When I was approved for the HAM, I made the first payment over the phone right there and then and also got a confirmation number for the payment. I think getting that confirmation number is much better than mailing in a check and hoping it gets 'applied' correctly since it is a different amount than your mortgage. If you call Citi and the person you get is able to confirm you are in the HAM and take your payment over the phone and give you a confirmation number, that might be better than just mailing them a check. At least there's a better (if not 100%) chance of a digital trail to fall back on if there's a problem later.

I started a thread for HAM people to post updates, please let us know here or there how it goes. I think there are a few HAM people on this board, we are all hopeful that things go well but nervous that a shoe will get dropped somewhere or the other. Our experiences might also help people who are later approved for the Obama HAM.

Originally Posted by nickiej

I am also in the same boat, just approved for the HAM program although I was told I should been approved last week after making 3 calls last week and being told that I was almost approved, but they were just waiting for the (BPO) appraisal to come in. However, I just decided to call again this week just in case and was told that Citimortgage no longer does the outside appraisals as of July 13th (what?) why wasn't I told that on the last (3) calls so I grilled her and then grilled her some more until she told me look some people I hate to say it just don't do there job becuase if they did they would have took the extra step and saw what I see on my screen now that your approved and that the reason there is no outside appraisal is becuase it comes in through the computer now as of July 13th. ( I said to myself no kidding on the right hand not knowing what the left hand is doing) So she approves me gives me my date which is Aug. 14th and I say wait a minute I thought it was 30 days after approval and she said yes you applied in June we changed the appraisal policy on July 13 which made you approved with appraisal so we start from July 14th. Nice that they told the person that would be making the payment which is me. So I am like its now the 22nd and had I not called until next week then I would have been asked to turn a payment around fairly quickly. Then she said well to be honest and some of the reps there tell people and some don't that you can really wait for your paper work becuase that is the real dates when payments are due and that the money just sits in unapplied funds until then so I should wait for the paperwork and then send the payment based on those dates becuase those are the official dates that come out after they submit my acceptance of the program through the computer which then starts the process of the paperwork that goes out.

So I am keeping my fingers crossed and of course calling today to verify, but from what I am hearing it seems that people who have paid and then got the paper work the days have been different. I think i will still send the 14th though unless I get my paperwork before then, I don't know because she told me it takes up to 30 days now so I am thinking my date will probably be around Sept 1 or Sept 14th but I think I will send it in before then just in case.

[xtroublex]

Hi all,

Been awhile since I updated you so here's where I am. 3 trial payment made and per the advise of Derrick from a couple months back, I phoned the loss mitigation folks to verify my 3rd payment is received and to request review of my account.

I phoned twice yesterday and 3 times today each time with the same result. I get a rep, verify all my info, explain why I am calling, I am asked to hold and withing 10-20 seconds I am diconnected. WTF?

I could understand once maybe twice but 5 TIMES? This is not a coincidence in my opinion. I left a message for Derrick to call me back and advise me further. The number I am calling for loss mitigation is 866-272-4749.

I was given this number by the people who answer the phone number I was given for questions about the program which is 866-413-4560. I will update you as I have more...

[langlang]

Hmmm...that's certainly very questionable. I mean I would still guess that there is some sort of technical problem, rather than they purposely hanging up on you.

I recently mailed my HAMP application package to them, and have the 866-413-4560 phone number as my number to call for questions, etc. I haven't been referred to any other phone numbers yet.
/
Are you under the HAMP (Obama) program, or is this a regular mod just through Citi?

[xtroublex]

This is the HAMP alright. Trying to keep politics out of it but this program is headed the way of the cash for clunkers as far as organization goes!

[langlang]

So strange, keep us updated. I guess you obviously didn't receive any 'final' mod paperwork like jillybean did in the other thread.

[xtroublex]

Nope,

I still haven't received a callback either. Derick was from the "special number" that was given for members of the forum. He was very helpful and friendly before so I hope he returns my call I won't begin worrying until Tuesday if I still haven't heard anything.

[xtroublex]

OK,

This is strange. I recieved A TEXT MESSAGE stating to call 866-379-7382 about my citimortgage modification request. REALLY?!?

A text message? Anybody else get one of these?

[langlang]

I certainly haven't. Did you call that number yet?

[xtroublex]

I called the number and it was legit. I called again today however because now when I log into my online account I'm showing past due and a late fee. That was never there before.

I called and was told that the last note on my account was that they were "still reviewing". WTF?

I have now completed 4 trial payments. I was told it shouldn't take more than 30 days to review my account. The girl on the phone was almost immediately defensive when I started to ask for more detailed answers.

I'm still kind of POed that Derrick never returned my call from 8/28. I left him another voicemail today which I hope will not be ignored.

[langlang]

Ugh, sorry to hear that. I'm only on my second payment, but am not holding my breath.

Did they say anything about your next payment? Do you know if you have to make the same trial payment amount or what? I guess they are hanging you out to dry here...

[xtroublex]

They always say the same thing. "Just keep making your trial payment amount until your loan mod is completed"

Which is really no information and no help.

[langlang]

That's what I thought. So basically, we keep making the trial payment amount (which by itself is fine.) And obviously if the mod is finally approved/stamped/whatever, then all is well.

But if the mod is not approved, I guess we are on the hook for the total difference between the regular mortgage payment and the trial payment amount for all those months. And I for one absolutely know I won't be able to make up that difference (much less start paying my old mortgage amount.)

[xtroublex]

Yes, that is my concern also. I just don't understand why they are so stingy with information. If everything was above board you would think they would be happy to provide you with anything you need!

Instead they always seem to be deliberatly vague and specifically avoid certain words like "approved". We have a credit union here in AZ called Desert Schools where these things get done in 3 months end of story.

No muss no fuss! I personally know someone who just signed the modded docs and will be enjoying sanity for at least the next 5 years.