The fraud recovery and lender liability lawyers at Mahany Law are investigating claims that Freedom Mortgage does not properly credit payments made by homeowners. We have been told by one homeowner that Freedom reported her mortgage payments as being late when in fact they were made timely. This caused the homeowner’s near perfect credit score to drop precipitously.
Today, having a good credit score has never been more important. Credit card issuers use it to decide whether someone is eligible for a card and if so, at what interest rate. Some employers look at credit scores in connection with hiring decisions. Car dealers, banks and mortgage companies use this information to gauge whether someone is a good credit risk. Even life insurance companies use credit scores in their decision making process.
We are currently investigating a claim by a homeowner who reports that not only was she current on her payments, in some instances she made extra payments of principal to reduce her loan balance. Those payments were not properly credited.
When calling the customer service line at Freedom Mortgage, she was told that her mortgage was current and never delinquent. Despite promises to correct the improper reporting nothing was ever fixed.
Ultimately out of desperation, the homeowner elected to refinance her mortgage simply to get away from Freedom Mortgage and their predatory loan servicing practices. When she applied for a new loan, however, she was rejected because of the alleged late payments. The denial letter from the new prospective lender said, “You are ineligible to refinance with us because of a 60 day late payment and a 90 day late payment reported on your credit report by Freedom Mortgage within the last 12 months.”
Possible Class Action Against Freedom Mortgage
We do not handle individual residential mortgage cases against lenders and servicers. In this case, however, we are investigating a possible class action against Freedom. (This is in addition to our other pending investigation against Freedom for possible underwriting violations in connection with VA loans. Earlier this year, Freedom paid $113 million to settle charges regarding FHA underwriting practices.)
If you are a homeowner who suffered a denial of credit, higher interest rate or a reduced credit score because of improper credit agency reporting by Freedom Mortgage, we wish to speak with you. If you are an employee – past or present – and have information to share, we would also like to speak with you. Confidentiality is assured.
Improper credit reporting is a violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act and can result in significant penalties and legal fees. It also hurts consumers.
Public data on the Consumer Finance Protection Board website suggests there are many other Freedom complaints but we need to verify this information directly. For example, just last week one homeowner complained to the CFPB and said, “FALSE OVERDUE NOTICES I am making a request for your office to determine why I m receiving letters stating that my mortgage payment is overdue and I am now being charged a late fee.”
Because Freedom does not respond publicly to CFPB complaints, we hope to speak with a company insider. As noted above, the information sought if for background and will not be used except with permission.
MahanyLaw is one of the premier lender liability and whistleblower law firms in the nation. We are best able to help people when other respond to our calls for information. If you have information to share, contact attorney Anthony Dietz at *protected email* or by telephone at (248) 789-5551.
Have new information about Freedom wrongdoing or interested in becoming a whistleblower? Contact attorney Brian Mahany at *protected email* or by telephone at (414) 704-6731.
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