A lawsuit has been instituted against 13 banks and mortgage companies for overcharging American Veterans. Among the banks sued in this lawsuit are Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, PNC Bank and Wells Fargo Bank. The lawsuit alleges that the banks had hidden charges and illegal fees that were passed on to the American Military Veterans when they refinanced the mortgages on their homes.
Under the rules set forth by the Department of Veterans Affairs, lenders cannot charge certain fees. To get around these rules, financial institutions “increased another set of fees”. They did this without explaining to the Veterans what they were doing.
Veterans Overcharged In Hundreds of Thousands of Cases
The lawsuit claims that hundreds of thousands of veterans were overcharged when they refinanced their homes. Each of the veterans paid between $300.00 and $1,000.00 more than what was fair and reasonable under this program supervised by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The lawsuit claimed that these loans were fraudulent and misleading. It is estimated that approximately 30,000 cases of overcharging veterans exist. Most of these real estate transactions took place before 2007.
Wells Fargo Agrees to Ten Million Dollar In Refunds
In February of 2011, Wells Fargo Bank entered into an agreement to refund ten million dollars to veterans who were overcharged. JP Morgan Chase has acknowledged that it also overcharged thousands of military veterans and active military personnel with regard to mortgages. The company also admits to improperly foreclosing on twenty homes owned by American military personnel. The overcharging of veterans by financial institutions is just another example of improper bank practices that defraud consumers in the United States.
Long Island Foreclosure Defense Lawyers New York Foreclosure Defense Lawyers
The foreclosure defense lawyers at the Law Offices of Schlissel DeCorpo have been representing homeowners fighting to keep their homes for more than 45 years. Our law firm represents homeowners throughout the Metropolitan New York area with regard to foreclosure lawsuits. We attend foreclosure court conferences on behalf of our clients. We submit a variety of foreclosure defenses in our Answers to Complaints served on our clients. Among the defenses utilized by our office are predatory lending, defective foreclosure lawsuits, and defective mortgages. Our office has extensive experience in dealing with all types of real estate related cases.
Filing bankruptcy is another means of Long Island bankruptcy lawyers dealing with foreclosure lawsuits. Our office also files both Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcies on behalf of our clients. The filing of bankruptcy eliminates credit card debts, as well as all other types of debts. Filing for bankruptcy stops foreclosures from moving forward and stops all other types of debt collection activity. Call us for a free consultation. We will explain all of your foreclosure options at that time.
Steven J. Baum, P.C. of Amherst, New York, has been fined two million dollars for inappropriate foreclosure legal practices. Steven J. Baum, P.C. is the largest foreclosure law firm in the state of New York. Steven J. Baum, P.C. has agreed, in addition to paying the two million dollar fine, to re-vamp its practices with regard to the handling of pleadings, affidavits and mortgage assignments in New York State and Federal Courts.
The depressed real estate market in the United States reached a new low in July, 2011. Home sales fell 3.5% during that month. This brought home sales to the lowest point in the last 13 years. Home prices keep falling. This makes it harder and harder for individuals to sell their homes. The reduction in home values has been a driving force in the economic problems in the United States. Consumers who feel the value of their home is going down are disinclined to spend money on everyday purchases. There is a negative effect on the economy in the United States when consumers believe their homes are losing value.
