Washington Mutual Mortgage

Washington Mutual Mortgage

As an insurance agent, I've never had more trouble with any mortgage company than I've had with Washington Mutual. About a month ago, one of my insureds approached me with a simple request: he'd like to lower the amount of his flood insurance coverage. He should easily have been able to do so, but our requirements are a letter from the mortgage company giving permission to lower the coverage (this is pretty standard). A week later he called back in a completely frustrated state. He'd called Washington Mutual's customer service number at 1-866-926-8937 and had been unable to speak with anybody who had the faintest idea of how to help him or what they were doing. Some representatives told him he couldn't do anything of the sort; others told him he had to keep coverage equal to his mortgage balance (and not the appraised value of his home) and yet another told him "no problem" but was unable to determine how much his coverage could be lowered. I told my client that I would call Washington Mutual to see what I could do. I was placed on hold for over twenty minutes. When I finally got through I talked to a very unhelpful man who told me that our insured could not lower his flood coverage, and refused to let me speak to a manager. I looked through their website and found that they accepted flood coverage of an amount "not to exceed the full replacement value of the improvements." I called customer service again (and was on hold for about fifteen minutes) and finally got through to a person who did not want to help me, but after I quoted the company website to her she transferred me to the insurance department. There I spoke with a representative who agreed with me, that the insurance could be lowered, but she was unable to give me a figure that they would accept. She spoke with a manager (I was not allowed to speak with the manager) and finally decided on an amount that "might" be acceptable. I asked her for a letter confirming this, and she was unable to give me one. She asked me to speak with the flood determination department to obtain the letter, but was unable to transfer me and did not have their phone number. I called the main customer service number (again on hold for a very long time) and got right back the the department I'd started with in the first place. The new representative said that there was no such thing as a "flood determination" department, and if anybody was to type a letter general customer service would do it. I gave them my fax number and waited two weeks. No letter ever arrived. I called again early this morning (on hold only ten minutes this time) to gently "remind" them that I needed the letter. The woman I spoke with took my phone number and said she would have somebody call me back. It's nearly 5:00pm, and nobody has called me. I can't conceive how anything as simple as a letter stating the acceptable amount of flood coverage could be so complicated. My insured and I have wasted a couple of hours apiece on the phone (mostly on hold or talking with different representatives, each with a different bit of misinformation) and still have no letter to show for it. If I gave this type of customer service, I would be ashamed of myself and my service. I encourage people who receive substandard service from a company to LEAVE that company. I know it can be difficult, but if the message isn't given companies like Washington Mutual will continue to prosper. R. Ashley Click this link to e-mail the above consumer: Email User Consumer