First Direct Lending LLC

I contacted First Direct Lending for a mortgage refinance. They took down all my information which was extensive. My credit rating was over 800 and in the end they refused the loan because of the high balance. The high balance had to do with it being out of their realm (not mine). Given the loan agent knew the request right from the start if this were beyond their business model (or comfort zone) then he should have been honest with me and let me know versus putting me through the process. Interestingly, my own bank that holds my mortgage (JP Morgan) was more than happy to do the refi and at a lower rate than what First Direct quoted me. Lastly, when I tried to follow-up with them I was never able to get the person I spoke with on the phone. It was such an unusual / bad experience I was actually worried that they were not even a legitimate business so I wound up subscribing to LifeLock's Identity protection services just to hedge myself. I would not deal with these people, it is as if they have children running things.

I would like First Direct Lending to refund my $225.00. It's clear to me that this was a ploy to make a few hundred dollars. There is no chance that the value of my home declined in two years by $10,000 with the market value in the area rising by over 3.5% and over $20,000 in upgrades to the...

structure.  Mr. [redacted]'s alleged complaint is above.  Mr. [redacted] received an independent third party appraisal for the amount of $225.00.  The amount of the appraisal paid directly to the third party is $450.00.  Mr. [redacted]'s complain that it appears to be "A ploy to make a few hundred dollars" is incorrect.  In fact. First Direct Lending is responsible for paying the remainder of the full appraisal fee to the third party appraisal management company.  In essence, it lost money on this one and others like it when the appraisal values come in lower than expected.  WE can't speak to the "chance the the value of [the] home declined in two years..."  That is the responsibility of the independent appraisers and required by Federal Law.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.I am not satisfied with their response. The whole thing is they LIED about what they were paying. They told us in a letter what they were going to pay and then when it was all final they changed it and only paid part of what they said they were going to pay. The attachment they added didn't look like the paperwork we signed, oh that is because ours was an estimate of what was suppose to get paid, they are right and we are wrong. I guess it doesn't really matter this jacked up bank will never make it right with us and that is fine. I will get away from this bank as soon as I can and I will tell everyone I know to NEVER use them. They are liars and cheaters!!!! 
Regards,
[redacted]

The refund for this complainant is currently being processed.

Hard working, client oriented, and dedicated. My transaction with First Direct was unbelievably easy and the final loan terms were excellent. [redacted] and [redacted] made greased the wheels every step of the way, were pleasant and informative, and generally a joy to work with. Thank you!

[redacted] in the last week
These people are scammers. Went through three months of stress being told every week we were going to close. They even told us not to pay our mortgage because we were going to close that month. Two hours before expecting the notary they called to say they messed it up and to pay our mortgage asap. This was on the 27th. We got behind on our mortgage because of this. The next month we were set to close and the day of, we come to learn FHA didn't even allow cashout refis if you hadn't owned the house for a year. AFTER THREE months no one caught this. Now no one will return my calls, everyone is in a surprise meeting every time I call. Now we are out $500 for an appraisal for a loan we were never remotely qualified for. Stay sway from these people

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details...

of the offer I reviewed appear below.
I do not consider this resolved and not to my satisfaction.  You cannot expect someone to answer so quickly.  They did not respond with adequate reimbursement and have been rude with previous calls. I will further my complaint with financial institutions that hold business es accountable for their actions. 
Regards,
[redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
As only excerpts from one my emails were quoted, and there was an additional email from the senior lender from FDL indicating that my July payment was post-marked in enough time and my current mortgage payment would not be marked as  late, I still do not see how I am responsible for an appraisal that never transpired. I am still out the two hundred and some odd dollars. Additionally, the senior lender also indicated that I would hear from a junior lender about to proceed next. There was no communication thereafter and the emails from FDL stopped. Horrible customer service altogether. 
Regards,
[redacted]

To the Revdex.com:
 
Ms. [redacted] was refunded her $475 fee for the required appraisal today.  Although it is not current First Direct Lending, LLC policy to refund appraisal fees for loans that are denied in the underwriting stage, First Direct Lending, LLC...

decided to do so in this instance.  Ms [redacted]'s other claims: "guaranteed to get my money back", and "his voicemail is shut off" are incorrect.
Ms. [redacted] also complained that "he waited five days before saying loan was denied". this is actually a relatively short time for an underwriting decision.
Thank you for your time and efforts regarding this complaint.  Please let me know if you have any questions prior to closing out this complaint.
Regards,
[redacted]
Director of Compliance

Have been trying to refi with this company for over 2 months. They piecemeal information requests out and drag the process out. I don't know if they are doing this to wait for increase in lending rates or what but after two months they still need more paperwork. Through another company I found out that I don't have true negative credit, I don't have credit. I only have a house but no other revolving credit. Why couldn't First Direct tell me this.

On Sep 21, 2016, at 1:38 PM, Office of the President <[redacted]> wrote:   Ms. [redacted], thanks for your messages.  I am writing from the Office...

of the President.  I am the Director of Compliance for First Direct Lending, LLC.  We apologize that you were not able to achieve your goals but the fact that the condo is not approved is out of our hands.  We are only able to close loans that are in compliance with agency and investor guidelines.   Although you mentioned that your property was a condo., agency guidelines can differ and that is what it appears to have occurred here.   See the comment immediately following that [redacted] previously sent to you:“Your condo is not fully approved or established with FMNA.”   And as [redacted] mentions, First Direct Lending, LLC paid for the remainder of the valid appraisal of which a copy you received.  That means that First Direct Lending, LLC is out of pocket on the other half pf the appraisal fee due to the third party appraisal company. Specifically, you paid half ($225) for a full and valid appraisal which results in a benefit to you. +
 
The above is the previous response we sent to Ms. [redacted] after a very long email chain.  She simply refused to accept the valid reasons which we provided.  She claims to be aware of the guidelines in a prior email.  If that is sop, she would know that her circumstance had issues that were simply not allowed.  In addition, she received a copy of a valid appraisal for which only paid half the cost. Regardless, First Direct Lending, LLC is processing a refund of her $225.00.  More time and effort are simply not warranted.         [redacted] x [redacted]  | Fax: [redacted]

Thank you [redacted] your professionalism and help was greatly appreciated! Even with my bad credit you made our refinance a pleasant experience .

July 23, 2015 Via Email[redacted]Revdex.com- Orange County and San Diego RE: [redacted] Complaint #[redacted]Ms. [redacted]:Thank you for your cooperation and patience in this matter. Below is a summary of Ms. [redacted]'scomplaint.COMPLAINT INFORMATION[redacted]...

[redacted]E-mail: [redacted]The details of this matter are as follows:Complaint Involves:Advertising IssuesCustomer's Statement of the Problem:This process in refinancing my home has been nothing but a three ring circus. For seven months this is drug on. I wasto sign closing documents papers last night July 7 the 15th at 4 PM and no one showed.Complaint Background:Product/Service:Purchase Date: 717/2015Problem Occurred: 717/2015Desired Settlement: 1. Ms. [redacted]'s initial file, loan file #[redacted], was declined on April13, 2013 due to incompleteness as was stated in the federally required Statement of Denial (attached.) Specifically, the borrower, Ms. [redacted], didn't provide the necessary documents needed to proceed. 2. Ms. [redacted] re-applied for a refinance again later in April, 2015. Her new loan file number was #[redacted]. She was conditionally approved for an FHA product on April 28, 2015. On May 18, 2015, it was noted that the borrower still had not provided First Direct with a means of payment necessary to obtain her appraisal so the file was suspended. The appraisal fee was paid on May 22, 2015 and the appraisal was ordered the same day. Also on May 22, the processor noted that there were remaining missing items needed for the file to progress. 3· On June 5, 2015, Ms. [redacted]'s rate was locked. On June 9th, a specific conditions list of needed items was sent to the borrower. A follow-up email was sent by the processor to Ms. [redacted] asking if she had any questions regarding the conditions list. Part of the list contained a request for clarification regarding several variations of her name which needed to be clear to eliminate any potential OFAC violations. 4· On June 17th, the loan was again suspended for pending missing items. 5· On July 7th, the loan originator contacted the borrower to advise that he could not move forward until she provided the necessa documents. This is the date the borrower references in her com aint as the date 6. On July 17th, an appointment made but had to be cancelled due to missing items needed from the borrower. The borrower was notified. The processing team worked very diligently to obtain the missing items. 7· Several conversations ensued with the borrower and the loan originator wherein the loan originator was attempting to either obtain the missing items necessary to move the file forward or cancel the loan file for incompleteness. It is worth pointing out that the borrower was verbally abusive to not only my loan originator but also to multiple employees on more than one occasion. 8. The Sales Manager reached out to the borrower a few times in July but Ms. [redacted] remained either unresponsive or verbally abusive. 9. The loan file was declined for incompleteness on July 23, 2015.Please note that the staff at First Direct Lending, LLC that interacted with her did so willingly and inattempt to move her file through the process. First Direct Lending, LLC prides itself on its excellentcustomer service and positive experiences. We are sorry that the file could not proceed and that Ms.[redacted] was not able to obtain the refinance loan product she sought.Her mention that "For seven months this is [sic] drug on" is incorrect.Thank you for your time and efforts regarding this matter. Please advise should you have anyquestions.,Respectfully,[redacted]Once you've had a chance to review the documents, please contact me at [redacted] ext. [redacted] or at[redacted] with any questions/requests.Kind regards,[redacted]

Again, borrower was very unresponsive during the process. First Direct was able to complete the loan process but Ms. [redacted] would not respond to calls or emails nor furnish required documentation.  After some time, she called in to complain and yelled at the loan consultant that had taken over the file and had been trying to rach her.  She refused to cooperate.  Company policy and federal regulations dictate the a file must be adversed when the customer refuses to cooperate/proceed and within the 30 day federal timeline.  We consider this matter closed.

Miscommunication messes everything up. Earlier today I gave first direct lending a negative review because of miscommunication so now I would like to reverse my posting with an positive one. First off I would like to thank Ross S for giving me a call back today. THANK YOU ROSS. Second, I would like to thank him again for giving me clarification on the miscommunication we've had. Thank you again Ross S

In November of 2015, I refinanced my house with FDL and had a positive experience. In November of 2016, I received a call from FDL saying I qualified for a "free" refinance. I spoke with Justin K and gave him all the required information he asked for. He stated he is able to help me, all was good, that the only process we had left was to reappraise the house. I questioned this because it was done less than a year ago and he said yes, we needed to. He did indicate anything else on the appraisal issue.
After I submitted the information Justin requested, my current employer was basically "harassed" to get my income information. After my employer submitted the required information, my employer was still constantly asked for information they had already submitted and was contacted AGAIN by a DIFFERENT representative! My employer stated that this made them weary and suggested I may not want to refinance with FDL. Because of my first experience, I decided to do nothing because Justin stated I was ready to go.
After all this, I get a notice my application was denied. I immediately tried contacting Justin and it took days to get a response. He stated it didnt get approved because the appraisal was not enough. I stated it was a refinance what was he talking about? He stated it needed to be at 248,000! I was incredulous! How can a house that appraised for $205,000 less than a year ago, go UP in value by $45,000!!!!!!!! He had no answer!
I submitted a complaint to Stephanie M and her response did not show any acknowledgement of how this was handled. When I told her I was unhappy with her response and would go to Revdex.com, she stopped communication right then and there. I have no idea how ANYONE can conduct business this way! It's wrong and they really need to look into how things are handled and be more diligent in their response to complaints.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference,...

details of the offer I reviewed appear below.I do not consider this resolved and not to my satisfaction.  You cannot expect someone to answer so quickly.  They did not respond with adequate reimbursement and have been rude with previous calls. I will further my complaint with financial institutions that hold business es accountable for their actions. 
Regards,
[redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me.  I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved when I receive the $245 refund. How will this refund be sent?
Regards,
[redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.As only excerpts from one my emails were quoted, and there was an additional email from the senior lender from FDL indicating that my July payment was post-marked in enough time and my current mortgage payment would not be marked as  late, I still do not see how I am responsible for an appraisal that never transpired. I am still out the two hundred and some odd dollars. Additionally, the senior lender also indicated that I would hear from a junior lender about to proceed next. There was no communication thereafter and the emails from FDL stopped. Horrible customer service altogether. 
Regards,
[redacted]