Comments for Helping Gulf Coast Residents

Helping Gulf Coast Residents

2010-07-06T15:08:00Z

(Hello. On June 17 I announced a three-month suspension on foreclosure sales and notices for eligible borrowers in the coastal areas hardest hit by the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. I published the below on our partner blog, new.citi.com, because this blog had yet to go live. Now that the CitiMortgage Blog is live, I wanted to share these thoughts here as well. Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below.)

We are watching closely the economic impact of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The full repercussions aren't known yet, but the crisis is already exerting a significant financial stress on many people in the region. When our customers began contacting us about the effect the spill is having on their jobs, businesses and finances, we looked at what we could do to ease the burden. That led us to announce on June 17 a three-month suspension on foreclosure sales and notices for eligible borrowers in the hardest-hit coastal areas. As I told reporters who covered the details of our announcement, Citi expects the program to benefit about 1,200 customers initially, though the number could climb. We hope to help as many eligible borrowers as possible with this initiative.

Homeowners in Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, like many regions of the U.S., are also simply struggling with hardships of the recession. Since the housing crisis began in 2007, we have developed a range of homeowner assistance programs to help distressed borrowers in their efforts to avoid potential foreclosure and remain in their homes. To date, Citi has provided forbearance, extensions, modifications, repayment plans and other forms of assistance to more than 900,000 mortgage customers in their efforts to avoid potential foreclosure and remain in their homes. What is more, it is our practice not to initiate or complete a foreclosure sale on any eligible borrower when the following criteria are met: CitiMortgage owns the mortgage; the borrower is seeking to stay in the home, which is his or her primary residence; the borrower is working in good faith with Citi; and, the borrower demonstrates sufficient income for affordable mortgage payments. It is an unsettling time, and we want to be an integral part of helping those in need. We remain focused on economic recovery and what Citi as a company can do to encourage it.

Comment from carolyn marshall on 2011-07-13

2011-07-13T14:48:50Z

Gary, I forwarded your information to somone that can help you. By now, someone should have been in contact. Please let us know if you need further assistance.

Comment from carolyn marshall on 2011-06-30

2011-06-30T14:42:22Z

Hi Steve. I understand that one of our specialists has been in touch with you. I apologize for the experience you had. If you need anything else, please let me know.

Comment from Gary Wall on 2011-06-08

2011-06-08T14:19:38Z

These properties are up for foreclosure and we are awaiting word from CitiMortgage. We cannot move forward without hard copy release of these loans. These properties are costing CitiMortgage money in taxes and other expenditures. Would like to purchase these properties, but CitiMortgage has not contacted lawyers.

Comment from Steve jaikissoon on 2011-05-20

2011-05-21T00:51:21Z

Just want the people to know that I'm trying so hard to get hold of some one at city bank and no one seems to care. We have a home equity loan with city bank right now and need some help. Every time they always put us on hold and never try to help!

Comment from Seth Doria, Senior Communications Analyst on 2010-07-14

2010-07-15T00:39:52Z

Hi Susan. I’m very sorry to hear about your experiences. I can’t go into the specifics of your account here in the comments section, but I do apologize if your interactions with us weren’t up to your expectations. I have forwarded your issue to the appropriate service manager and you should be hearing from us very soon.

And just a note on the comment moderation – we simply have to. Several customers have already posted comments with their account numbers. If we didn’t moderate, those comments would have gone live and who knows who would have seen them. We are committed to protecting our customers’ privacy and personal information. Posting this kind of information publicly could put you at risk for identity theft or other types of fraudulent activity. And as you can see, we’re not afraid of posting comments from folks like yourself who have concerns. We launched this blog to engage, and understand that doesn’t always mean having people pat us on the back. We will take any criticism to heart, and hope to provide as much useful information to people as possible.

Thanks again for your comment.

Comment from Susan Conti Brocco on 2010-07-09

2010-07-09T20:36:17Z

I would LOVE if CEO, Sanjiv Das, really did take an interest in homeowners in trouble. Because, in that case, there would NOT be the uneducated, insensitive, rude, representatives I have to deal with on a daily basis. I would LOVE to have ANY Executive contact me to hear my side of the story - the true side - right from the source, ME! I have been put into a worse situation than where I was when I begun! And, I am so desperate to see a way out! Unfortunately, I just do not think that will ever be with CitiGroup/Mortgage. It is terrible what is being done to me - the fees, the interest, the SCAMS!

I note that below where I am typing right now there is a comment that states" "All comments are moderated and will be reviewed before publicastion . . ." How much you want to bet this doesn't get posted nor, i receive a response!

Sincerely - a VERY upset consumer and customer of Citi