Big business loves to treat customers like chopped liver. They never seem to learn that there are consequences. Ocwen Loan Servicing, LLC is one of those companies.
You may not have heard of them, but Ocwen is a company that buys loans other banks make to people who want to buy a home. One of the loans Ocwen bought was the Daughertys’ mortgage. The Daughertys are a nice couple from West Virginia. But, as you’ll see, Ocwen sure didn’t treat them that way.
Like a lot of Americans, the Daughertys ran into financial problems. They missed a few mortgage payments, so Ocwen filed for foreclosure, but the Daughertys worked hard at fixing the problem. Eventually they got current on their mortgage. Ocwen dropped the foreclosure case. At that point, things should have been right as rain with Ocwen, but they weren’t.
See, even though the Daughertys had fixed the mortgage problem and were making their payments, through a series of screw-ups by Ocwen and Equifax – you know them as one of the Big Three national credit reporting agencies, Mr. Daugherty’s credit report incorrectly stated that he hadn’t made mortgage payments, and the Daugherty’s home was in foreclosure. Since both of those things weren’t true, the Daughertys wrote to Ocwen telling Ocwen about the inaccurate credit report, and asking them to fix it – which is something the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act required Ocwen to do. What happened next is going to blow your mind.
Ocwen agreed that the Daughertys were current on their mortgage and that their loan with Ocwen was not in foreclosure. But out of the other side of its mouth, Ocwen said that the credit report showing the Daughertys were behind on their mortgage and their house was in foreclosure was accurate. What? That’s right, Ocwen said that the Daughertys were current on their mortgage payments, but the credit report saying they weren’t was correct. Oh, Ocwen also said they weren’t going to do anything about the credit report, and the Daughertys should have a nice day.
Even though Equifax sent Ocwen request after request to let Equifax know if what the Daughertys were saying was true, Ocwen told Equifax that it wasn’t, even though it was.
Was this another case of Big Business stepping on the little guy? Yes, it was. Was there anything the Daughertys could do to a big company with a lot of money? Yes, there was, and here’s what they did.
The Daughertys got a lawyer who sued Ocwen for violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Ocwen refused to settle the case, so a jury settled it for them. They awarded the Daughertys over $2.5 million in damages, which shows that you can fight Wall Street and win, even if the big fish treat you like a small fry.
If someone’s stolen your identity and now your credit’s screwed up, you need to speak with me about your rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Contact Sam Rael right away!
