Come on Chase, have a heart
Oh Chase, you just really want bad publicity, don’t you? For God’s sake, just let this father of an injured active serviceman coming home from Iraq stay in his home a little longer so that the son has a home to come back to. After all, you are foreclosing because you told him to miss payments so he would qualify for a loan modification.
20-year-old soldier Aaron Collette is currently on a tour of duty in Iraq. Next month, he’s scheduled to return to Oregon for two weeks of hard-earned leave. After surviving an IED explosion next to his squad this month, Aaron is looking forward to some quiet time with his family.
There’s a problem, though. Through no fault of their own, Aaron’s family will be kicked out of their home on August 9th – just ten days before Aaron returns. JPMorgan Chase is foreclosing on Aaron’s father Tim Collette, and has so far refused to modify Tim’s mortgage.
Tim Collette is on a mission to save his home – at least, temporarily. He’s simply asking for Chase to delay foreclosure proceedings so that Aaron can come home to Oregon this summer.
Like many homeowners in foreclosure, Tim Collette played by the rules. He put a $100,000 downpayment on his home when he purchased it back in 2006. But when the economy crashed in 2008, Tim’s cabinet refinishing business dried up. Tim struggled to make his mortgage payments each month, and eventually called Chase for assistance in restructuring his loan.
The bank told Tim that he’d need to miss two payments to qualify. Once he did that (per the bank’s instructions), the bank began foreclosure proceedings. After yanking Tim around for more than a year, Chase decided not to modify Tim’s mortgage and scheduled the final foreclosure date for June 20th.
When news of Tim’s story initially broke, JPMorgan Chase quickly told reporters they’d find a solution for Tim and placed his June 20th foreclosure on hold. But as soon as the media attention waned, the bank called Tim again and told him the foreclosure was back on – now scheduled for August 9th.
U.S. law prohibits banks from foreclosing on the homes of active duty military members, but JPMorgan Chase has mistakenly foreclosed on at least 27 service members. Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said of this mistake, “There is no class of citizen that we hold in higher regard…this is the worst [mistake] we’ve made. We deeply apologize to our veterans … and we’re sorry.”
Tim’s son Aaron isn’t the homeowner in this situation. But this is Aaron’s home. It’s his bedroom. His family. His safe place to return to after serving his country in Iraq. Chase Bank has already shown that, when under scrutiny by the media and with the determined advocacy of groups like Economic Fairness Oregon, they’ll delay foreclosure proceedings. Let’s see what happens when Change.org activists send thousands of messages to Chase Bank in support of Tim and his family.
Bad bad Chase, Foreclosure | admin June 29, 2011
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By Robin Berry, July 26, 2011 @ 9:48 am
Hope all works out for you.
After 6 months of sending in paperwork and resending, also getting switched from one “relationship manager” to another, and told not to make a payment until the modification process is complete and arrangements set, I find out from my homeowners insurance agent via email that Chase has foreclosed. She had been contacted by Chase and sent an email to me asking me where I had moved to! Then, through my real estate agent, we discover that the foreclosure started on February 17 and in March I was sent a letter by Chase apologizing for not having let me know about the foreclosure!! Argh!!
I am in the six month redemption period, have a buyer for the home and Chase won’t settle or make a deal.
I hope the Feds hold this institution accountable for their horrible customer service and lack of heart.
Robin Berry