(This is the first report from this author. See every part of this saga here.)
MJ in Pennsylvania said: “HSBC, just say no. I’ve had nothing but problems with my mortgage through HSBC/Beneficial from day one. I was forced to file bankruptcy in August 2003 because not one person offered me a hardship when I laid off from work. My problem was not credit card debt but the loss a job making $25.00 an hour to collecting unemployment. They claim they offered to cut my payments in half but they never had that conversation with me. I ended up filing bankruptcy to save my home and decided to research HSBC and found out they were getting slapped with a class action lawsuit so on the advice of my bankruptcy attorney I opted out of that and filed my own.
HSBC ended up modifying my loan and dropped my interest rate but still left me with a loan amount that far exceeds the value of the property. My house was over appraised when I originally got the loan. I even questioned this at the time and was told my home needed to be appraised at a specific amount. I recently tried to get another hardship in June, 2008 and was told I missed a payment in the previous hardship and spent the next few months sending faxes that in one instance was 19 pages long showing statements and payments.
In the meantime I was getting further behind in my payments. I’ve sent numerous documentation to back up the request for the hardship which was 20 pages long and all I do is go around in circles with these people. Finally I sent a certified return receipt requested letter to the CEO which, to date, has not been answered. By the end of October or beginning of November the hardship is approved which was a joke, the pmt amount was $100.00 less than the original payment amount.
This is after HSBC going back and forth to its been denied to its been approved. I swear there isn’t one person I’ve dealt with to date that has half a brain. I contacted an organization called Hope for Homeowners who then sent a request to their hardship department which to date was never acknowledged requesting the loan be extended another ten years. I’ve gotten phone calls from the automated dialer numerous times after I’ve spoken to someone in their collection department. I know they outsource their collections and some of these calls are made from India.
I even asked one rep if she knew they were violating the Fair Debt Collection Act and she was clueless and had no idea what I was talking about. I used to work as a collector so I have some background in the do’s and don’ts. Since then I’ve been to a foreclosure seminar in Delaware where representatives from various lenders were available to speak with them including HSBC. When they sent us back I told the woman from HSBC I would be surprised if any help would be forthcoming and she said you would be surprised. End result we still walked out with no solution. Although the rep was very empathetic to my concerns and promised to look into it I was advised by him that this was escalated to upper management and I would be receiving a call from them. This was prior to Thanksgiving and other than the harassing calls from collections I’ve heard nothing. I received a follow-up call from the organizers of the seminar to see whether or not I got any resolution which I advised them what has happened since which is nothing.
They told me they would contact HSBC on my behalf. I’ve been unemployed since March of 2008 due to a flair up of an injury sustained in a car accident in 2006 which is working its way through the courts. I’ve explained no job no health coverage. I’ve told HSBC the details of the litigation through the courts, the fight with the car insurance company over them balking to authorize surgery that is necessary and once this occurs I can work again. I’ve provided proof of the car accident, doctor’s reports, denial of Medical Assistance, denial of Social Security benefits, etc. I’m so tired of sending the same documents explaining my circumstances.
I’ve sent these people everything but the kitchen sink. I refuse to go down without a fight and would like to keep my home but it seems that they delay until you are so far behind in payments that the next thing they do is foreclose. I hold my breath every time I go to the mailbox for fear of getting a notice of foreclosure.
HSBC doesn’t want any regulators looking at their books for fear of what they might find which is nothing more than creative accounting. All the supposed help they’ve given people with the premise of so called six month hardships was to slap all the accrued interest, late charges, past due payments, fees, etc to the end of the loan leaving consumers with loan amounts that far exceed the value of the property.
In my opinion HSBC should be wiped off the face of the earth. That class action lawsuit meant nothing to them and they continue to operate in the same fashion as before. I just don’t understand how HSBC manages to fly under regulators radar with their lending practices. The CEO and the rest of the top brass at HSBC should be ashamed of themselves. They know the tactics used by their collectors. Thanks for letting me vent. I love finding all information regarding HSBC in one place. Thanks too for fighting for those of us who had no clue just how vile HSBC is.”
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