Consumer Bankruptcy Journal Fall 2015 | Page 42

MORTGAGE SERVICING ABUSES other default events that will trigger late charges, property inspections and broker price opinions. 30. Charging their own attorneys fees for the documents needed to file a motion for relief from stay and then adding these fees back to the mortgage loan. 31. The failure to give the debtor credit for payments received from the trustee for court approved legal fees to be paid pursuant to the plan. 32. Charging the debtor for legal fees substantially greater than the actual fee approved by the court. 33. Seeking to charge debtors enhanced fees for loss mitigation services required of them in any event under their servicing agreement. 34. The raiding of escrow accounts strictly reserved for the payment of property taxes and insurance for the purpose of funding and paying down corporate advance accounts. 35. The systematic filing of false affidavits with the court. 42 CONSUMER BANKRUPTCY JOURNAL 36. The systematic filing of documents with the court that are purportedly prepared by the mortgage servicer but that in fact are prepared by some thirdparty provider of out-source services. 37. The systematic failure to properly reconstruct a mortgage payment history so as to verify the accuracy of all post-petition credits before instructing an attorney of file a motion for relief from stay. 38. The failure of attorneys for mortgage servicers to review, sign and verify court pleadings before filing them with CM-ECF system. 39. The inclusion of bogus “foreclosure fees” and charges in sworn proofs of claim. 40. The failure to provide for proper credits and refunds on various foreclosure advances before including the full amount allegedly advanced in the proof of claim. 41. The inclusion of bankruptcy related attorney fees in proofs of claim by designating the same Winter 2015 as “foreclosure fees” or “foreclosure related” expenses. 42. The inclusion of vague and obscure disclaimer language in proofs of claim regarding their practices of charging or of tracking post-petition legal fees and oth er charges. 43. The inclusion of pre-petition taxes in proofs of claim and then increasing the monthly mortgage payments to recover the taxes as an escrow advance. 44. The rating of attorney performance by benchmarks related to how fast they perform designated functions as opposed to the quality and accuracy of the work product. 45. The offering of quarterly bonus plans to attorneys who rank high in their attorney performance reviews. 46. The benchmarking of time rather than integrity. 47. The preparation of “payoff” statements during the course of a bankruptcy case that do not disclose National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys