Bank error, or more sinister?

[Celebration]

Banks have me a bit paranoid ever since I found out that fees for overdrafts are such a huge part of banking revenue that they actually exceed net profits of the banks.

In any case, my daughter and her husband bought a home in 2004, I think it was. I remember telling her to make sure it was a thirty year loan with no balloon payment. She took that to heart, had a lawyer she trusted, asked the right questions, and, more importantly, she has a copy of the mortgage stating it is 30 years.

However, a couple of days ago she apparently got a note from the bank saying that their mortgage is due in two years. She checked with them before actually looking for her mortgage, and they have it on a list as coming due in two years.

Now, I have no doubt that this will get straightened out, since she has a copy of her note. I will say that this bank merged with another one a couple of years ago.

Anyone have any opinions about whether this is anything more than just a clerical error?

[pnwmom]

1. Time for her to go back to her lawyer. n/t

[babylonsister]

2. No kidding. Or tell the truth. Either way, doesn't sound good. nt

[napi21]

3. I think it was nothing but a clerical error. You wouldn't believe how

many errors banks make all the time! Sometimes in the customer's favor and sometimes in theirs. They find most of them and fix them fairly quickly. With all the mergers, & closings in the last year or so, I'm posive the number of errors have increased! I wouldn't worry about your daughter's case. With the market frenzy in real estate severals ago, I'm sure there were many errors made in paperwork. After a merger, auditors of the new bank are pouring over what they got from the merger and this error was found. It's an easy thing for them to fix.

[DCKit]

6. Why do the errors never seem to be in favor of the customer?

On the other hand, they're incredibly sloppy (and prolific) when it's a mistake in favor of the bank.

[napi21]

7. I worked for 2 diff. banks. Believe me, they're NOT always

in favor of the bank! I can give you 2 glaring examples of errors being in favor of the customer. The 1st case, $1,000,000 was deposited into a customer's account by mistake. (Oe digit off on the account #). The customer contacted the bank and had it corrected AND requested a letter from the bank so he could prove to the IRS that he wasn;t laundering money! The second, and at a diff. bank than the first, a $6,000,000+ transaction was misapplied, but in that case, the customer took the money and ran. Disappeared to a country that didn't have extradition rights with the US!

Why do you think every consumer advocate always says to check your bank statement every month because the bank isn't always right!

Most errors are small. $5.00 or less. The bank writes them off. It's simply not worth paying an employee to find it.

[SheilaT]

4. Did she get some kind

of paperwork at closing that spelled out what the payments would be and how many of them there would be? A thirty year mortgage should be 360 payments. Over time the taxes part of the payment will probably rise, but the principal, interest, and insurance part should stay the same.

[barb162]

5. My question is did you tell her to get a 30 yr. FIXED rate loan

DO her documents say it is a fixed rate loan.

[Celebration]

9. yes

I think this will work out, one way or another. But I was wondering if the bank was somehow trying to pull a fast one. Ordinarily I would have said no, but, again, banks have me a bit paranoid now.

[Hawkowl]

8. Produce the note!

Insist that the bank provide the actual paperwork with original signatures on the note to substantiate the banks claim. No note, no claim.

[Celebration]

10. I wonder if this was securitized, etc.

If so, that might be where the paperwork issue failed. If so, the bank could be in pretty big trouble.

My daughter is paying the note to the same bank that they got the loan. At the time they got the loan, it was a local bank. Now it is a regional one.