I wish I had the silver bullet to address and fix the rampant abusive practices that have transpired within the mortgage servicing entities of many of our large banks and elsewhere.
I don’t.
That said, the ongoing problematic issues within mortgage servicing practices remain prevalent. How do I know? I hear from people entangled in this mess on an ongoing basis.
In my opinion, these issues go right to the core of what I believe is the problem with the structure of our banking industry in America today. That problem centers on the fact that we have a few banks (e.g., JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo) that dominate the market, especially within the mortgage realm.
As many longtime readers of my blog are aware, this economic structure known as an oligopoly allows, if not promotes, the following abusive type practices:
1. price controls, if not outright market manipulation, via collusion
2. little to no competition
3. hoarding of information and charging excessive prices to those who want or need access to it
4. banks acting in their own self-interest rather than on behalf of their customers
Regrettably, far too many of our fellow citizens still dealing with these institutions in terms of addressing the servicing of their mortgages find themselves caught in this web. What is one to do?
I have heard from so many people who have exhausted countless hours in an attempt to get some degree of satisfaction with little to show for it. Little doubt why many are questioning the spirit of fair dealings and justice in our nation today when they are not able to get satisfaction on this front.  The only issue that I might even possibly compare this frustration to is the anguish felt by so many in attempting to address their healthcare coverage. So what might one do? My tact on addressing issues of this sort is three fold:
1. I always look for somebody inside an organization, in this case the mortgage servicer, to whom I can go and make them “own†my case. This can certainly be a challenge and I do not pretend it is easily accomplished. I do think it is far better to spend time and effort in this pursuit than circuitously navigating a servicer in what likely feels like a merry go round.
