Having mortgage problems with First National Bank of Omaha?

We were a mortgage customer of almost 10 years, during which time our mortgage payment was always made on or before the due date without fail. Following this period of perfect payments, we thought we had a good relationship with this bank we were wrong.

We had to file bankruptcy in 2009, but were NEVER late or behind. In fact we immediately reaffirmed the loan to show our character and intent. Our thanks for this was that our CURRENT ON TIME loan was place in the collections department ANYWAY without notice. I called and wrote several times to try to get them to correct this. They could have cared less and seemed eager to trash an on time loan relationship with a long time customer.

Late in 2009 / early 2010 we lost employment and fell behind (by less than 30 days). We let them know in advance of our first late payment & they denied ever being called. From that point on we started receiving canned very rude letters & phone calls from our very own collections representative. We continued to pay and were never quite 30 days late, but we were late. We contacted them and asked them if we could pay interest only for a month, and reset our payment the next month, which would allow us to stay current from that point forward. THE ANSWER WAS A RESOUNDING NO!. They wanted to continue to stack on the late fees and justify their position instead.

In 2010 had severe flooding damage. We immediately contacted FNBO and told them of the damage, and the fact that it would require us to re-direct considerable funds to the clean up and fix of the situation. We again asked for the ability to pay the interest and reset our payment.otherwise we would be approaching 45 days late. Again the answer was a resounding, almost gleeful NO.

For our trouble we got the following:

1.) DENIAL of our contacts to them they sent us letters denying ever hearing from us (even though they clearly record all incoming phone calls). Typically they stated we have not received word from you regarding your intentions. We sent them a letter back documenting the date, time and subject matter of the call thus letting them know they were being called liars.

2.) SEVERAL ITS NOT TOO LATE TO SAVE YOUR HOME FROM BEING FORECLOSED ON letters.

3.) RUDE phone calls from them stating things like DO YOU KNOW WHO THIS IS?!

4.) Late fees (of course)

5.) A bunch of prying documents in the mail they actually wanted us to fill out and return to them many questions in these documents had NOTHING to do with our loan and other questions were information they had no right to know. We gave them nothing. We did not return one document.

Upon receipt of #5 above, we sent them a letter, printed pictures & videos of the flood damage on CD in simple MPEG format (viewable on any computer). They actually refused to accept the evidence and sent the CD back to us stating a bunch of politically correct crap about its use in FNBO systems. So in legal terms, they actually refused legitimate evidence. At this point we somehow got enough money together and paid them up (current) and sent them a letter letting them know we received the CD back from them, and that we were documenting their refusal of legitimate evidence. We also outlined in this letter how the post marks of all notices we got from them actually PRECEDED events, that in many cases never even happened.

Almost ALL letters they sent us, no matter what the subject line of attack, were sent out and post marked BEFORE the item they were writing us about had even taken place many times. For instance, we received several letters stating we were 45 days late and the post mark was dated BEFORE the actual date of us being 45 days late many times we had already made the payment prior to their letter even being post marked, and in all cases we were never 45 days late. We spent a lot of time sending in dated receipts proving this to them as if they didnt have the proof themselves. Finally, despite the fact that they did so falsely and fraudulently ,they sent in an erroneous credit report on us stating we were over 45 days late which was untrue, so now we must address this with credit reporting agencies.

MY advice to consumers being treated in this way by FNBO (or any bank) is to not back down.

1.) Call them if you will be late, tell them why you will be late and then note the time and date you called them and what you said then hang up. Do not answer their questions and do not fill out additional documents they may send. (Better yet, record the phone conversations as I did. Completely legal in NE) Do not tell them you are recording them they do not need to know for it to be legal, Nebraska is a single party state, which means only one person of the conversations needs to know the conversation is being recorded. Follow every phone call of this type with a letter stating the same information.

2.) Whatever the reason for your being late, send them proof if they wont leave you alone or deny being contacted by you. If you are unemployed, send a copy of something that states that. If there are other circumstances, send them proof. There is NO need to send them ALL the details, send them only what you want. Again, document this. Send it REGISTERED MAIL as I did. It gets the point across to them that you are serious and they will not be running the show.

3.) Keep ALL letters from them, including the ENVELOPE with the POST MARK. It shows their procedures are either in line or fraudulent and deceptive as they were in this case with FNBO.

4.) Never answer the phone when they call if they are serious about needing to talk to you, let them leave a message (they almost never will). YOU pick the time of when you call them and state only what is necessary, make a record of the call and preferably record the phone call. Never agree to any additional terms on the phone and never promise a payment to them (even though honest people like to do that to show intent). Honesty means nothing to these people they are not your friends.

5.) If they are dragging their feet on actions for you, send them another letter calling them on it. When it is an item that they are required to address, use statements like You may consider yourself formally advised. Keep all copies of letters you send them.

6.) If they dont respond to your letters or calls, send them another letter and document their lack of action and communication.

7.) Stay in their hair and never back down. If they put false information on your credit report, dispute it formally.

8.) If they continue to harass you, contact your Attorney General. If they are out to smear you and harass you, make them just as big a loser in the fight by turning them in to regulators and people who (if they hear enough bad reports on the institution); are obligated to act.

9.) Spread the word on them with sites like this. They may respond with a rebuttal, so be honest, but cost them future customers by telling the truth about them banks LOVE that.

10.) Do not give them your work number or your cell number. Give them ONE number with a machine on it. Go buy a phone at walmart and give that number to them, then check your messages once a week.

This bank (FNBO) is in financial trouble and they have no qualms when it comes to trashing their customers. Your long term history with them means nothing to them. Let them know you are not the person they should be messing with and continue to pay as best as you can. Let them know if they try coming for YOUR house, its going to be messy, long and costly. They will find someone else to pick on. Continue to make the open point to them that unless they have some secret customer willing to pay them in these hard times for all their costs, and the full loan value of the home (after it sits for months maybe years in litigation with NO payments); they are better off shutting their mouth, leaving you alone, firing the collections idiot they set on you, and allowing you to continue to pay to the best of your ability. Remember, as long as you are in contact with them and paying even if late they have little recourse that wont cost them much more than its worth. FNBO is not your friendly neighborhood banker, they are predatory.