Problems Galore!
Written: Feb 24 '04
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Pros: Nothing. None. Nada. Nichts. Rien. Zip. Zilch.
Cons: Greedy. Unreasonable. Untrustworthy. Impersonal. Uncaring. Inefficient. Fallible.
Whatever you do, DON'T MAKE A MISTAKE!
The Bottom Line: Extremely poor customer service. Impersonal. Cold. Untrustworthy. Heaven help you if a mistake is made, on your part or theirs. Takes forever to fix it and you're the loser!
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| jh1221's Full Review: Countrywide |
Once, just once, I mailed the payment without a stamp. It set a chain of events in motion that pointed out how ignorant, intolerant and greedy Countrywide is. Had been a Countrywide customer for four or five years, paid regularly, NEVER incurred a late fee, and often paid extra principal. NONE of that meant anything to Countrywide.
They called because the payment was late, but not yet overdue. I was puzzled, since I was sure I mailed it. Or did I misplace it? Or did the Post Office lose it? And how would we prove it? My husband assured them we would look for it, and if it didn't turn up, we would stop payment and send another check.
When it finally did turn up, returned because of insufficient postage, as proof of the mistake, I took the entire payment, including the envelope stamped with Insufficient Postage, and enclosed it in another envelope along with a letter explaining what happened AND a second check for the late fee, since it was now overdue. I was VERY apologetic and took full responsibility for the error, adding that the late fee was enclosed as a show of good faith, and thought all was taken care of.
For month #2, we did not receive the monthly coupon but I sent the payment in anyway, and on time. I made sure there was a stamp! Before mid-month, we got another call that our payment was late! We assured them payment had been sent but by now we were VERY confused.
Then the next coupon for month #3 arrived and it billed us for the regular upcoming payment plus TWO months past due payments plus late fees for both months! It threatened legal action! About the same time, we received a letter from Countrywide with our uncashed checks for the previous two months enclosed. What was going on? Oddly enough, the extra check for the late fee for month #1 was not included and had been cashed, even though we were still assessed that first month's late fee in the bill along with a late fee for month #2. What a mess!
My husband, who has much more patience with fools than I do, called Countrywide to ask what this was all about. It seems that when he said we would stop payment if we couldn't find the check, all that Countryside heard was that we were stopping payment. So, when they received the original check, they thought payment had been stopped and returned it. Why they returned payment for month #2 is beyond me, BUT, by returning it, they were able to charge us a second late fee!
It took almost four months to iron out all the kinks, including convincing them that we had already paid the late fee for month #1, and shouldn't have to pay the late fee for month #2 since we sent it in on time and Countrywide erred by returning it to us.
Since then, every interaction with Countrywide has been a mess. Countrywide once claimed that I wrote the wrong amount on a check and charged me the extra amount plus late fees. At first I refused to pay until the check was returned so I could verify that the mistake made was mine and not theirs. But the check never materialized. Not sure if it was "lost in the system" or fell victim to the Anthrax attacks since our post office tested positive for Anthrax and all mail was diverted for irradiation and some was lost.
While this dispute was going on, one payment was sent via FedEx or else it would be late. Records show it arrived there on the 16th, the usual payment deadline, but we were still assessed a late fee. Of course, there's no proof that the 16th was the deadline since the only place it appears is on the coupon that's returned to Countrywide. I was too aggravated to fight with them over it. But, from then on, I make photocopies of every coupon and every check I send to Countrywide, in case the payment or due date are ever in dispute again.
And I'll spare you the details of how we were overcharged for property taxes and it took over a year to fix that, get our money back, and get the monthly payment back to where it was supposed to be! I'm sure during all this, Countrywide has overcharged and/or cheated us but I'm not hiring an accountant to figure it all out.
I can't wait until we can sell this place and NEVER have to deal with Countrywide again! Since Countrywide bought out our original loan, I only hope it does not contain the same pre-payment penalty clause about which others here have complained.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
jh1221
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Reviews written: 14
Trusted by: 0 members
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