Mortgage Predators

I am amazed at the process of HSBC. We have been hit by a hurricane that damaged our house quite badly. We have been dealing with stinking carpets and wet walls from past 45 days. Our insurance company processed the claims and sent us a check that requires our mortgage company to cosign the check. HSBC says that they will monitor the funds and deposited the funds in their account. They want us to to spend our own money and repair the house and then they will release the funds after reviewing the reciepts and they complain that they are overwhelmed with the hurricane claims. Here we are overwhelmed trying to find a contractor to replace the roof and people to repair the house and living in a stinking environment, waiting for the funds to be released so that we can repair our house and HSBC takes the money and is overwhelmed with the money. Beware of such banks that are predators and treat the customers as slaves. They are saying that they will release only 3rd and will release the funds in bits and pieces in their own time. We got our roof replaced and also got it inspected to make sure that the job was done well. HSBC says that they will not accept the inspection report and will send their own inspector and then will release our funds in bits and pieces. They slam late charges on our mortgage if we are even a day late but they can keep our money until they are comfortable to release it. It is very frustrating to deal with the hurricane damages and deal with such insensitive predator companies who have the audicity to say that they will hold money against defualt mortgage payments if we do not restore the repairs. Our house is more important for us and we want to see it restored much faster than them making sure. We are terribly frustrated with this lender. Our insurance company also claims that they never heard any lender being so ridiculous. I don't know how long we have to wait to get our money back.

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well, I can say that I agree with you. Our house, that we no longer have was damaged 2 years ago by a storm. All of the work is done, we paid out of our pocket, and we are still waiting for our money. I am fit to be tied with HSBC. What a joke!! They keep asking us for different things.....like for expample I got a call 2 days ago that they need the contractor to sign the invoice, really? this was 2 years ago.

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I called HSBC again this morning after not receiving the check Fedex yesterday. i was given a different tracking number and thank goodness it does show that it is out for delivery, but I won't believe it till I see it. Just wanted to let people know that I found out after asking numerous times for the Dept. head and being referred to the supervisor's supervisor's supervisor... that this is a company in Droaville, GA that is not a part of HSBC. They work for several different banks. I told the rep. that now I really understood why they give this kind of shoddy customer service. It only makes sense that this is how this company makes money, by holding on to the funds for as long as they can ( at least 30 days) It's rather odd that whenearly on in the string of phone calls I made to them, I was given a projected date of when I would received my check and it was 12/24/10 and guess what, today is 12/23/10. It all makes sense. I probably wouldn't be getting it this early if I had not called and raised *@## as much as I have. And just for the record, I got them all the documentation they requested a long time ago and was told twice that there was nothing else they needed only to find out there was one more thing. I am going to write a letter to the CEO of HSBC, maybe he won't care either, but this does not seem legal if they are truly earing interest off their customers money.

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I'm afraid YOU are the idiot! I have turned in all necessary documents not once but twice and have complied with every request, etc... I was told yesterday my check would be Fed-Exed yesterday. Guess what, never got it! I too was told, the "processor" will call you in 48 hours, same senario as the previous person. Guess what-Never got a call! You obviously have never been in the situation the rest of us are in so I don't know why you bothered to stop on this website. HSBC has had my money-yes MINE because I paid the insurance premiums-not them for 6 weeks. They have a racket going of holding onto substantial amounts of customers money and earning interest. This should be against the law!

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HSBC does not have the right under the Mortgage documents to make up whatever policies it wants for determining when to release insurance proceeds. The mortgage permits them to withhold insurance proceeds until the work is completed, and then promptly thereafter to disburse the funds.

Our house was damaged and we paid our contractor out of pocket before receiving the check from our insurance company. The insurance proceeds have been sitting in an HSBC Loss Draft Department account in Doraville, GA for over a month now, and HSBC has had all of the documents showing that the work is completed and paid for for at least three weeks. Their inspector visited a month ago and confirmed the work was 100% complete, and we provided a written statement from our contractor weeks ago confirming that he has been paid in full. HSBC is now telling me that they won't release the funds until I give them an affidavit stating that I will use the proceeds to pay my contractor. I told them I can't do that because it would not be true since I already paid my contractor in full and they have had a written statement from the contractor acknowleging this for at least two weeks. Rather than acknowledging that their request is nonsensical, two different Supervisors I spoke with told me that the only thing they could do is "escalate" the matter to a Processor who will call me in 48 hours.

Their procedures are designed to allow them to hold on to their customers' money for as long as they want. One representative even told me it takes them 48 hours to receive a fax. Once they confirm they have received all of the information/documents, they say it will take 7 to 10 business days to issue a check. Unbelieveable.

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Having the same problem here. And yes they have the right to distribute the funds as they see fit. However, my roof has been repaired for over a month and a half, they have been out and inspected the work themselves and still have not released the funds as promised. I had to threaten them with a lawyer and tell them my contractor was going to put a lien on my house before they would ever call me back to schedule the inspection in the first place.

My understanding is that the purpose of having the Mortgage Co as co signers on the check is meant to insure the repairs are done as they have a vested interest in seeing that the work is completed. It seems to me that all they are doing is using my money to earn interest while I am unable to get needed repairs done.

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You are idiots. It is written clearly in the Section 5 Deed of Trust of your mortgage agreement that your mortgage company can monitor the funds as they see fit. They can require documentation and inspections and send out draws in 3rds, 50% or however they please. If you wan the work to get complete, it is best for you comply and send in the paperwork and endorsed claim checks for your money. Get the inspections done and get more funds. The more you're on top of this the faster and easier things will flow. Being a whining A$$ will not help you any and your file/paperwork/funds may get lost in limbo for periods of time. Just do it. Stop whining, after all...you signed an agreement. And, if you don't remember reading that Deed of Trust portion, it's no one else's fault, but your own. Have fun and get your paperwork in to fix your house.