— Remind you of your mortgage servicer? (Green Tree Python Snake – Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Update 5/23/13: Due to the flood of calls in recent weeks, we ask that people kindly refrain from calling about this case. Emails, however, are welcome, and will be kept confidential. If you need foreclosure defense, please find a local attorney to represent you here.
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About Green Tree Servicing
Green Tree Servicing is one of the biggest servicers of home loans in the United States. It specializes in “servicing” (debt-collecting) subprime residential mortgages. The company’s unusually aggressive collection methods and other business practices are in question. Green Tree Servicing, LLC, is a wholly owned subsidiary of the publicly traded company Walter Investment Management Corp. (NYSE: WAC). Walter Investment Management is based in Tampa, Florida.
Green Tree Servicing is based in St. Paul, Minnesota, and operates twenty-nine offices for its debt recovery operations. In recent months, Green Tree has acquired hundreds of thousands of at-risk loans. In January 2013, Bank of America (BOA) sold mortgage servicing rights (MSRs) on roughly 650,000 residential mortgage loans (worth $93 Billion) to Green Tree’s parent, Walter Investment Management Corp.
For many consumers who have had their mortgages transferred to Green Tree Servicing, it is the final unpleasant chapter in the mortgage meltdown. People whose mortgages have been passed along from lenders like Wells Fargo, Countrywide, Bank of America, and GMAC, are now stuck with Green Tree Servicing, LLC.
If recent calls are any measure, being introduced to Green Tree Servicing has not been a positive experience. In the past few months, upset Americans from Arizona to Vermont have voiced their opinions about Green Tree Servicing, such as “Green Tree is an evil company,” and “Green Tree employs mafia tactics.” One issue that remains to be seen is how consumers who were in the process of undergoing loan modifications during the time of the transfers will be affected.
I. The Green Tree Servicing Investigation - What We Are Investigating
We are not fully certain exactly how Green Tree Servicing’s business practices have affected consumers through various markets in America. These are the issues we are currently investigating:
DOES GREEN TREE CHARGE UNFAIR FEES? We are seeking information about how GTS imposes fees to process payments of any kind (late fees, delayed accepted of payments, telephone payments, Internet payments, etc). Also, we are seeking information about whether Green Tree processes payments in a timely manner.
DOES GREEN TREE HARASS PEOPLE? We are seeking information about calls made before 8:00 AM, after 9:00 PM, after being hung up on, after being asked to stop calling, and calls containing abusive or profane language, or outrageous threats. We are also seeking information about whether Green Tree contacts third parties (i.e. co-workers, relatives, neighbors) and tells them about the debt.
DOES GREEN TREE INTERFERE WITH LOAN MODIFICATIONS OR SHORT SALES? We are seeking information from those who were good candidates for loan modification but the process was derailed through no fault of their own. We are also seeking information from individuals who claim they were unable to complete short sales because of Green Tree’s business practices.
We are accepting information from people from all U.S. states, including current and former employees of Green Tree Servicing, Bank of America, and GMAC.
What Can You Do the Help?
If you have information that is relevant and helpful to this investigation, please email it to: pleonard@theleonardlawoffice.com, subject line “GREEN TREE SERVICING.” Due to the flood of recent phone calls, we ask that people kindly restrict contact to email only.
II. The Green Tree Servicing TCPA Class Action Lawsuit
On April 3, 2013, a class action lawsuit was brought against Green Tree Servicing on behalf of a national class seeking redress for alleged violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”). The complaint alleges that Green Tree Servicing autodialled the plaintiff’s cellular phone as many as 100 times about a debt which he did not owe. The case is the result of a ten month investigation by the Leonard Law Office LLP, a consumer protection law firm. A copy of our class action complaint against Green Tree Servicing, filed in a Massachusetts federal court, is here. Read the rest of this entry »
