Help for Homeowners

Consumer Alert:
Don’t be scammed by phony settlement assistance!



TIMELINE

  • The Consent Judgments appointed former North Carolina Commissioner of Banks Joseph A. Smith, Jr. to be the settlement monitor. Information about Smith’s Office of Mortgage Settlement Oversight is available here: https://www.mortgageoversight.com/
  • Notices were sent to eligible borrowers between Summer 2012 and Summer 2013. The primary deadlines to submit claim forms to receive a payment were January and September 2013. Payments were mailed to borrowers who made claims between June 2013 and February 2014.

WHERE YOU CAN GO FOR HELP

For loan modifications and refinance options , the five participating servicers have completed the consumer relief required under the Settlement. The servicers provided over $50 billion in combined gross relief. That being said, these banks are still assisting borrowers who need help. You may contact the banks directly if you need additional information:

For borrowers who lost their home to foreclosure between Jan. 1, 2008 and Dec. 31, 201 1 and whose loans were serviced by one of the five participating mortgage servicers , the National Mortgage Settlement Administrator mailed Notice Letters and Claim Forms in late September through early October of 2012, and for a small number of borrowers, in July of 2013. The deadline to submit a claim form has passed and claims are no longer being accepted.

You may contact the National Mortgage Settlement Administrator toll-free at 1-866-430-8358.

FOR BORROWERS NOT ELIGIBLE FOR ASSISTANCE UNDER THIS SETTLEMENT

The National Mortgage Settlement is not the only assistance available to troubled borrowers. The following Web sites include valuable information for borrowers regardless of whether you were eligible for this settlement:

www.makinghomeaffordable.gov
www.independentforeclosurereview.com

You may also call: 1-800-569-4287 to connect with a HUD-approved housing counselor.

Loans owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac were not impacted by this settlement. You may visit the following websites to learn if your loan is owned by either Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac:
www.fanniemae.com/homeaffordable
www.freddiemac.com/avoidforeclosure

These sites will also include information about mortgage and foreclosure programs you may be eligible to access.


CONSUMER ALERT!

Scammers are at work trying to capitalize on the national mortgage settlement to access your personal information—or worse, your money. The Attorneys General have already received reports of scammers in Alabama calling borrowers claiming to be one of the major banks involved in this settlement and offering a cash payment to consumers if they simply provide the routing number to access their bank account. If you receive an unsolicited call from one of the major banks, you can identify a scam in several ways:

  1. Does the caller identify themselves as representing your mortgage servicer? Or do they ask you to provide the name of your mortgage servicer? If they ask you for the name of your servicer, they may be a scammer.
  2. Does the caller offer to provide your personal information to assist you in identifying your account? Or do they ask you to provide that? If the caller is from your mortgage servicer, they will be able to tell YOU your personal information because they will have it. You should never provide your personal information (including bank account numbers, social security numbers, etc.) to an unsolicited caller—no matter what they promise you.
  3. Does the caller offer to speed your settlement relief for a fee? They are definitely a scammer! Neither the banks nor the Attorneys General will charge a fee to speed your settlement.
  4. If you think the caller may be legitimate, ask for their contact information, tell them you are going to call your bank’s hotline (located above) and confirm, then call them back. Chances are if they’re a scammer, they won’t want you to check on them and they won’t provide their contact information.

REGISTER A COMPLAINT OR REPORT A SCAM

There are multiple ways to register a complaint about your mortgage servicer or to report fraudulent activity.

• Contact your State Attorney General. Contact information by state is available here: http://www.nationalmortgagesettlement.com/states.html

• File a complaint regarding your servicer with the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: https://help.consumerfinance.gov/app/mortgage/ask

• Report a scam to the federal Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force: http://www.stopfraud.gov/report.html