I have been dealing with my own housingcredit crisis for the past 2.5 years but in a very different way than most people facing similar issues. Unfortunately my Mother passed away in January 2008 and I inherited her home, newly mortgaged in 2007 at the peak of the predatory lending and poor loan approval time. She was one of the many that either got manipulated by the system, or manipulated the system – depending on how you want to look at things. This is not a story about that, rather my challenges in dealing with what I believe is the worst customer experience in my history.

Since that time I have struggled with both the Bank of America (formerly CountryWide) poorly trained operators, a lack of information from so-called “trained” employees and a number of other constant insults that make me question the core values of these companies.

I have decided to share my woes in an effort to gain some perspective on why and how this behavior could be occurring, and perhaps provide some much needed feedback to a company that services what has to be millions of mortgages in the US.

I should also note that I wrote this post entering the 82nd minute of a customer service call and operator #8 in an effort to calm myself down and multi-task.

First a few facts:

My name is Eric Friedman
I opened an Estate Account to handle things correctly for all things concerning my Mothers accounts including her home.

Question: What is an estate account?

Answer: It’s a generic term used to describe an account in the name of an estate of a deceased person. The account can be opened by the representative of the estate, usually referred to as an executor/trix or administrator/trix. This individual — sometimes referred to as a personal representative of the estate — will have court documents of appointment. To establish an estate account, the personal representative must provide copies of the decedent’s death certificate and the court appointment, in addition to whatever personal ID the bank requires. He or she will also have to obtain and provide an IRS-issued EIN for the estate.

For CIP purposes, the estate is the customer.

I opened an Estate Account and have filed all necessary paperwork during a rough period of 2008 in which I, as a meticulously organized person, submitted and clarified and closed all outstanding issues surrounding the estate.

One issue left open, was the issue of my Mothers residence (primary and only residence).

Inbound – First is customer service calling me

Every so often CountryWide (now BOA) calls me for one reason or another. Sadly, they ask to speak with “Estate of …..” which is not a person, but rather an entity. I explain that I cannot put this “Estate of ….” on the phone and that I am in fact the executor of the estate – Eric Friedman – but this does not help.

They want to talk to the “name on the account” even though it is not a person.

Once I convince them that “Estate of ….” is not a person then they proceed to verify account information and social security information of my mother. This is annoying, sad, and frustrating because they are technically verifying an account of someone who is no longer alive and they should not be doing this. When they ask for my account information, I provide it and they usually cannot find me on the account. I have sent in all documentation via fax, FedEx, and certified USPS and have verified not only its receipt but also gotten special notation on my account to avoid trouble in the future – it does not help.  A few months after they were unable to locate my FedEx packages I began keeping track of how many times I faxed my information to Countrywide/Bank of America – I have faxed my information to them 63 times.

Eventually my information is found and they realize they have the right person (don’t forget, they are calling me at my number!)

Once my personal info, SS#, and Executor of the Estate status has been verified, I am unable to continue as there is usually no connection between my info and the Loan itself.

I then ask the tough questions like “how did you get this phone number if I am not on the account?” or “how did we verify my mailing address where I live if I am not associated with this account?” – it does not help despite my sarcastic questioning.

This process takes around 5-10 minutes each time (it ads up) and I am constantly referred to as “Estate of …..” which is not my name.

Outbound – this is me calling customer service

Similar situation as explained above – only this time the operators claim that “Eric Friedman is not the name we have associated with this account, and we need to speak with “the estate of ….” which as you by now know is not a person.

I cannot understand why or how customer service operators are not trained to know that sometimes (not all the time) when people pass away, their homes and assets are put into an estate account to handle things. By having untrained operators who do not know the details of, have never come across, and do not know how to handle what must be a very common circumstance is mind blowing.  This is not one persons fault, this is EVERY operator I speak to.  A simple pamphlet or training across the call centers would alleviate this problem.

I have called in to see if there is anything that can possibly be done to get out of a negative situation which boils down to a lower monthly payment that goes towards both interest and principle. Most of the time I am told that since my account is in good standing there is nothing Bank of America can do.

Let me explain further, since I am an account in good standing, they are unable to accommodate me.

It turns out that if you stop paying your mortgage there are all sorts of things the bank can do. I recently learned that 1 out of 4 homes is “underwater” and there are programs in place to help these people. It is a sad but true fact that since I pay bills on time – always – I am penalized.

Another example is the mail correspondence Inbound – BOA sending me physical mail

My correspondence with Bank of America by mail is not by choice.

They send me mortgage bills and I pay them with a check. You may be wondering why electronic payment is not possible – it turns out its the law.  This is at least according to Citibank.

An estate account does not have online access, an ATM card, or any other means of access except for USPS mail and dealing with the bank. This may sound crazy, but the bank cites co-mingling problems and issues surrounding people who do not manage estate accounts properly.

This results in conversations with BOA asking if I want online access. The answer is “Yes, I do, but its illegal” which they do not take well.

I wish the account could be flagged as that of someone who has passed away and therefore dealing with an estate account and to never be asked that question again. The operators all have good intentions to save the environment by sending electronic correspondence, but this is just not an option.

So here I am, almost 2.5 years later, dealing with a situation that is constantly rubbed in my face by poorly trained operators, misinformed customer service representatives, and no answers in sight.