Bogus Foreclosures
December 10th, 2010Via: AP:
People have always loved to complain about their banks. The push-button circus that passes for customer service. The larding on of fees. But the false foreclosure cases are hardly the usual complaints. These homeowners paid their mortgages — or loan modifications — on time. Some even paid off their loans. Worse, those on the receiving end of a bad foreclosure claim tell similar stories of getting bounced from one bank official to the next with no resolution while the foreclosure process continues apace.
Many have to resort to paying a lawyer, even after presenting documentation. They say they have to sue not only to stop the wrongful foreclosure but also to attempt to win back their costs.
There are no official statistics for these homeowners, but lawyers, real estate agents and consumer advocates say their ranks are growing.
…
After going to court and serving as his own lawyer, Nyerges got Bank of America to drop its foreclosure action. All along, he had been showing employees of Bank of America a copy of the $165,000 cashier’s check he used to pay for his house in September 2009. “No one at Bank of America could wrap their brain around this concept that I had no mortgage,” he says. In September, the court awarded Nyerges $2,500, plus 6 percent interest, for his costs.
Says Bank of America spokeswoman Jumana Bauwens, “This was an unfortunate error that was corrected when it was brought to our attention.”
