Skip to main content

Meet Tom from Virginia

Since we launched on July 21st 2011, we’ve heard directly from consumers about the challenges they face in the marketplace, brought their concerns to the attention of financial institutions, and helped address their complaints. Accepting, resolving, and analyzing consumer complaints is an integral part of our work.

Periodically, we’ll feature stories from consumers who we have helped, and who have agreed to let the CFPB make their stories public.

Tom, a 39-year-old attorney from Virginia, spent three years getting the runaround from his bank when he attempted to modify his mortgage. 

In 2008, Tom requested the mortgage modification after his employer reduced his salary. From that point, Tom had a frustrating back-and-forth exchange with the bank. At first, Tom said, the bank said he qualified but that he had to miss two payments for the modification to go through. When the paperwork on the account didn’t reflect what he had been told by the bank representatives, he said he was told to be patient. Then the bank increased the principal on his loan. He asked about it but was told to be patient again and that the computer system needed to be updated. Then, he received notices saying he was defaulting on his loan.
Every time Tom tried to fix the situation by calling his bank, he was unable to reach anyone who could help. He says he was told that the errors could not be corrected by any one department. After the CFPB investigated the matter, the bank proposed a settlement agreement including a $12,000 principal reduction and a cash payment of $8,000 to cover the accrued fees, interest and other related charges that occurred during his request for loan modification. Tom is still waiting for the paperwork to be signed but expects it to be soon.

Learn more 

To see more about how we handle consumer complaints, read our Consumer Response Snapshot and to see all credit card complaints, visit our consumer complaint database.

Join the conversation. Follow CFPB on Twitter and Facebook .