Did Chase have the right to foreclose on Wamu loans while the sale was pending?

The Puget Sound Business Journal has done some great coverage of the Washington Mutual seizure and the aftermath over the last couple of years, one of which has been the digging into the long delay between the announcement of JPMorgan Chase’s purchase of WaMu’s assets and the closing of the deal.  The latest entry in this story questions whether Chase had the legal right to foreclose on WaMu loans in the period where the sale had not yet completed.

But that raised questions, such as: Who owned the assets of failed WaMu in the interim? Was JPMorgan able to foreclose on homeowners with Washington Mutual mortgages before the sale of the assets was complete? Those answers remain hazy. I put in calls to Gray at the FDIC and a Chase spokeswoman today, though neither were immediately available.

The answers to these questions could allow tens of thousands of WaMu customers whom Chase foreclosed upon in the interim to challenge the foreclosures.

Latest Chase toxic loan lawsuit

Chase is accused, in this latest lawsuit of knowingly pushing toxic loans on unsuspecting customers.  While Chase doesn’t appear to have been involved at the time these loans were issued, they are the successor to the litigation due to their acquiring of Washington Mutual and Bear Stearns, who were apparently responsible.  However, Chase CEO is accused of knowing about the fruad since 2008 but working to keep the information from the public.

Chase has set aside a $9 billion reserve for the litigation.  Ouch!

Don’t give Chase documentation they don’t have!

There has been a lot of speculation as to exactly how much documentation Chase (and other banks) have lost on the original mortgages and subsequent ownership transfers that have created a legal quagmire (and liability) they are experiencing with proving authority to foreclose.

Well, hints come from many places and today’s comes courtesy of a commentor on our blog:

I just had a Chase representative tell me that I had to send in a copy of my recorded mortgage or they wouldn’t process my HAMP request. I’m not about to hand them documents that they would just use to take my house! This company is something…

A wise choice indeed.  Don’t give Chase documentation they may have lost and without which they can’t foreclose on you.  Be wary of signing anything that reaffirms their ownership of your mortgage or authority over it (if they are only the servicer, not the owner) if they can’t otherwise prove it.  Better yet, ask them for proof of their authority over your loan before agreeing to anything.  If they can’t provide it, ask them for better terms to your loan modification.

Yes, I realize these are very simple and potentially naive suggestions, but the truth is that no-one knows what might work given the documentation uncertainty the banks have today.  One thing that is sure, they know they have a problem.

Join a Chase mortgage modification class-action

We received this note from a reader:

Hagens Berman  206-623-7292 may be involved in a class action lawsuit on behalf of Chase customers who have been attempting to modify their mortgage loans.

From their website, I was able to find this case that involves several large banks (presumably including Chase) not providing loan modifications to eligible customers.

Chase harassment and the personal blog

What do you do when a big company like Chase goes above and beyond all sense of civility and reasonableness when trying to deal with delinquent payments?  You march out in front of your local branch and start you own blog, like this Chase customer did to protest mistreatment, and call it Why I Hate Chase Bank.  Here is an exerpt from the blog:

When one of the Chase representatives would happen to get me at a semi-good enough time to take a call, and to patiently go through all the stupid ‘required’ verifications, name (see: please call me A.), complete address, phone, name of my employer, where the vehicle is parked at night, who the primary driver is, who is my insurance carrier, etc. etc. etc.

I at first answer all their invasive series of questions like well, most of the above but I just love (sic) the ‘what is the reason that caused you to fall behind on your payment’ question?

So, we get through all the questions, now to the ‘meat’ of the call, the money. The representative then asks: May I take your payment now? I can schedule it for as late as this Friday.

In my case, I would usually explain that I would bring in a cash payment to one of the branch locations on Monday, Tuesday whenever I next expected to be able to make said payment.

Insert unhappy representatives reply: “blah, blah, blah”

Thank you, and good-bye!

2-5 hours later, the phone calls begin.. guess who? Chase again, supposedly knowing nothing of the previous representatives earlier call and discussion, thereby proceeding to badger me through their &^%$ series of verifications, etc. etc. etc.

As I try to break in to ask the representative to “please look at their records, I already spoke with someone about my payment earlier today”, I am interrupted with SIR, we have to go through these questions before I can even access your account.

I’m now over the phone calls, no-more phone calls. My right to peaceful use is not going to be constantly interrupted by Chase and a systematic auto-dialed collection calls from hell!

Arrggh!

Chase auto loan shenanigans

This troubling story was submitted by a reader.  There are so many things that Chase seems to have done here that are illegal and disrespectful, where to start?

We had our Jeep Liberty Sport 2002 taken from Chase auto in 4-2009 Chase never contacts us before of after the auto was repoed I filed with the PA AG and Chase VP was interview and stated that the auto was damaged in the frame (Not True) High Miles (Not True) the reg/title was not transfered for over a year after the repo. All personal items were lost and the Tag is still missing to date and being used! Chase VP claimed via phone that it was sold for $4900 It was missing for 3 months from time of repo to auction. Chase filed SC court action this month and are demanding $9990 claiming the auto was sold for $2700 (book value $7400 Loan due $7300)The dates that appear in the docket are wrong! and it appears the Jeep was switched at auction and a damage one in its place. A auto check found the Jeep was total a year ago and if it had frame damage that is the reason for the accident that happened 2 months after purchased

WaMu deal closed, but somethings fishy

As Washington State was ground zero for the WaMu seizure and sale to JPMorgan Chase because WaMu was based in Seattle, the Puget Sound Journal has been particularly diligent in tracking down information about the process and the aftermath and reported several stories last year about how the sale of WaMu to JPMorgan Chase wasn’t actually closed, leading to speculation that JPMorgan Chase might be made to pay more for what they bought.

But not, in a strange and fishy twist, the FDIC now says that at least some of the reports of the sale closing being extended are wrong, and the sale was closed last September.

The sale of Washington Mutual to JPMorgan Chase & Co. closed Sept. 1, 2010, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., who said today a previous statement that the sale had been extended through October 2010 was incorrect. The Seattle thrift was closed by regulators on Sept. 25, 2008.

Last August, a document surfaced that revealed the two-year-old sale was still pending because of an extension, supposedly one of many. The last time I checked with the FDIC about the status of the sale was early October 2010, and at that time spokesman Andrew Gray said the final closure date had been pushed out another 30 days.

However, that information was incorrect, he told me this week. The last extension had a Sept. 30, 2010 deadline, not Oct. 30, 2010 like he thought. The sale was closed on Sept. 1, 2010, said Gray.

“For some reason I was told that there was a second extension and that was not the case,” said Gray in an email.

The terms of the deal remain the same, he said. JPMorgan purchased WaMu’s assets for $1.88 billion from the FDIC. Some shareholders held out hope the extension of the sale would mean the purchase price may increase, especially since JPMorgan bought the thrift for a small fraction of its $307 billion in assets at the time it was closed.

However, Gray confirmed the details of the purchase and assumption agreement, which are available on the FDIC website, have not changed. I have submitted a request through the Freedom of Information Act for all the extension documents, and have been told that request will be expedited. I’ll post them on our website as soon as I receive them.

Read more …



When Chase forgets to send correspondence, customers suffer

We’ve documented lots of examples where Chase doesn’t bother informing customers of important things happening with their accounts, but this story has to be the worst.  After reading this entire story, I am struck how the root of the problem was that Chase didn’t adequately inform a customer who was doing their best to stay current on their loan, despite some hardships, of their true obligations.  It’s almost as if the people at Chase simply didn’t care what hassle and inconvenience their lackadaisical approach to banking causes people.

Financed a brand new Subaru Outback from Chase Auto Finance in September, 2005. Had to file Chapter 7 bankruptcy in May, 2009, due to infant son’s medical and hospital bills. Payments were current at time of bankruptcy discharge. Did not reaffirm the loan, as we had equity in the car at that point. Continued to make monthly payments on the car to Chase via Moneygram. Paid almost $8,000 in the almost two years since the bankruptcy. Had calculated that I owed about $1,400 in March. On March 25, a tow truck showed up to repossess the car. I couldn’t believe that Chase would repossess the car for such a small amount owed and the fact that we had so much equity in it. I called the Chase bankruptcy department while the tow truck driver waited. I was told that the $1,400 was a balloon payment from when I had deferred a couple payments years earlier when my son was hospitalized. With everything that has happened since then, I had completely forgotten that the last payment would be a balloon payment. There was no notice or reminder of this from Chase. They refused to make any payment arrangements and insisted that I had to let the tow truck take the car unless I had $1,400 in cash at that very moment. The tow truck driver couldn’t even believe that they were taking it either. This is our only car.

Without it my husband could not get to work, my daughter to school, or my son to his multiple therapy appointments. Even after requesting a supervisor, they still refused to work with me. Keep in mind that I would not be responsible for any of the cost and fees associated with repossessing the car, as it was included in bankruptcy and not reaffirmed. Chase would be responsible for all of that. So the car was repossessed and towed away. We had to rent a car to the tune of $234 for the week. I called Chase again first thing Monday morning. I informed them that I would be redeeming the car on that Friday morning when my husband got paid. I was given specific instructions on what to do when I made the payment in cash at the Chase branch. I then called the towing company who took the car and informed them that I would be getting the car on Friday morning. I was told to call Chase back and ask for a redemption hold. I called Chase back and they refused. I called them multiple times that week. At one point I was told a completely different person was now in charge of my account. I was given a completely different set of instructions on making the payment at the bank. I kept in contact with both Chase and the towing company throughout the week.

On Thursday morning, I called the towing company and was informed that my car was in route to Manheim Auto auction almost 4 hours away from my house. I was told that they would bring it back to my city by the next day for $100. On Friday morning, just before going to the bank to redeem the car, the towing company called and told me that my car was at the auto auction and Chase refused to let them bring it back to my city. I called the auto auction and was told that they close early at 3:30 on Fridays and are not open on the weekends at all to pick up the car. I went down to the bank and paid the $1,400 and followed their instructions on having the payment receipt faxed to them. My husband had to leave work early and we drove the 4 hours to pick up the car. It took almost the entire 4 hours and multiple phone calls for Chase to fax the release to the auction in time. I arrived at the auction just before closing, but late for my scheduled appointment. The woman handling this at the auction was quite sympathetic of my situation and effort and happily agreed to let me pick up the car. I was informed that Chase would be billed for over $300 in transport and storage fees from the auction, as well as the repossession and storage costs to the towing company.

So Chase was it worth wasting probably almost $700 to repossess the car? Add on the cost of my rental car and the complete waste of all of my time. And thank you for the wild goose Chase to pick up MY car! And by the way, I still to this day have never received any repossession documents in the mail from your bank and you know where I live. That is against the law! Please remember that according to my state’s laws you must send me notice of release of lienholder within 15 calendar days. It is now day 8. I do expect to receive my title in a timely matter. Chase Bank…I will never forget this experience with you bank and I will never ever do business with you again. I like to remember how much money our government bailed toughie with and this is the thanks you give to hard working families?