LOSER: Greenpoint Financial

I have to tell you that I’ve never been angrier, or more surprised, by the actions of any company that I’ve ever conducted business with - in my entire life - than I currently am with Greenpoint Financial Services.

Generally speaking, when a company confirms the features of a product to me in writing, I generally feel that what is written is true, and that it’s safe to move forward if the written word meets my needs. And that goes double when the product we’re talking about is a Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC). But Greenpoint Financial recently proved to me that what they write when they are trying to make the sale, and what they deliver after they make the sale, are two completely different things. Let me explain:

I was recently in the market for a HELOC that required some VERY SPECIFIC features. So specific, that I confirmed each item in writing with Greenpoint before I closed on the loan. And they in fact confirmed all the features with me, in writing, prior to closing. Having been satisfied with the written word of Greenpoint, I closed on the loan only to later learn that many of the features I required were NOT going to be available to me, despite having confirmed those features in writing prior to closing. In short, they lied to me to close the sale. And yeah, I’m plenty pissed about that. But it gets worse.

Once they told me I wasn’t going to get what had already been confirmed in writing, they started hanging up on me. And it goes without saying that they weren’t returning my calls, either. They even hung-up on my Escrow Officer at the closing table for my new loan when they learned what the call was about! And all that was while I was still being polite with them. In fact, I was still being polite with them all they up to about 10 minutes ago.

I’ve now reached a point where I no longer find it necessary to be polite. In fact, I’m in the mood to sue their ass since that appears to be my only recourse at this point – and the only way to really get their attention. It would have been so simple and inexpensive for them to avoid it altogether by either giving me what was promised in writing – or cheerfully refunding 100% of my out of pocket expenses. But that’s obviously not going to work out, and that obviously leaves me with no other option than to nail them to a cross for everything that I am entitled to.

Meanwhile, you might want to avoid a similar situation for yourself and find a different lender for your needs. Unless you feel like throwing a bone to your lawyer, too!