Edwards is 100% right about needing to fight corporations.

Let me tell the personal story to illustrate the point.

On August 28th our home in Chapel Hill burned down.

Our $440,000. interest only loan with ABN-AMRO was sold to Citimortgage, effective September 1. The letter telling us where to send our payment was destroyed in the fire, but we finally got a copy through our insurance company and made our September payment on time. In October our insurance company sent us a check for $272,883.48, made out to us and Citimortgage, which we endorsed and sent to Citimortgage with a letter requesting the check be applied to our loan balance and our monthly interest only payment be recalculated based on the remaining balance. It took me several days and numerous phone calls before I gave up and sent an e-mail trying to get verification where the check should be sent and whether anything else needed to come with it. After a week, I got an e-mail reply with a phone number where I could actually speak to someone, and we sent the check with the letter they requested. They received the check, cashed it, and noted it "unapplied funds". Our November statement arrived with no change to our payment. I called and inquired what the problem was. I was told, first of all, they needed the original letter. I offered to fax a copy. They declined and said they would call me back in the afternoon after they located the letter. At 5:30 pm I received a call saying they couldn't apply the funds to the loan balance! The supervisor I requested to speak to had gone home. The next day I spoke to a woman who told me they couldn't accept the check as pay-off, and I told them, as I had in the letter, it wasn't pay-off, just to be applied to reduce the loan and get a new payment. I was told they'd have to send it through some chain of command and get some approval. I asked why, when they'd had the check for almost a month, they hadn't bothered to call me, e-mail me or write me and tell me they needed some other process and more information. No explanation. No apology. I could tell I was getting nowhere and said my attorney would be in touch. I met with our attorney in early December and put it in her hands.

Our January statement has come and Citimortgage has still done nothing to apply the check they've had for over two months to reducing our loan balance and giving us a new payment amount. We have continued to make our loan payments on a burned out house, while we are fighting with our insurance company over the replacement cost of the house, in order to recover the full amount of our insured valuation which would enable us to payoff the loan. We have been treated with incredible contempt by Citimortgage while attempting to do the right thing, making our payments on a burned down house. Our attorney has gotten nowhere in getting Citimortgage to do the right thing by us.

After the insurance company lowballed the replacement value of our house and applied a depreciation factor that was excessive, we hired what's called a 'public adjuster' to enforce a clause in our insurance policy which allows us to challenge the replacement value of the house. The public adjuster told us the 40% depreciation factor applied by the insurance company was laughable, unsupported in the industry for a house that was maintained as was ours, and that he'd personally (with 25 years in the business) never seen a depreciation factor greater than 15%. The appraiser we've hired, using original plans for the house (which miraculously survived the fire in a kitchen drawer)has come up with an estimate $100K greater than the insurance company figured.

If we finally get what we are owed, for which we were insured, we will have to give up to 15% of what is recovered from the insurance company to the public adjuster for their services. The mortgage company has been sitting on the initial check, despite the fact we've hired a real estate lawyer to tell them that our loan allows a pre-payment and they are required to apply that initial payment to reducing the balance of the loan.

These companies, both the insurance company and mortgage company, don't give a shit! Neither one is doing what is right without a fight, and we have yet to prevail. Even if we do get what we're owed from the insurance company, we'll have to give up possibly as much as $25K to the public adjuster for his services just to get what is owed us based on our policy. We paid the premiums all those years. We're STILL making the loan payment on a burned out house, although I'm calling the attorney Monday and asking her what she thinks of the idea that we send a letter telling them no more payments until they figure out our new payment.

Edwards is absolutely right. These companies do whatever they want. What are you going to do about it?
If you're an average person, you can't do squat without someone in your corner. I want Edwards in my corner--actually in the Oval Office--fighting for me. It's time to reign in these companies. I not only get the intellectual argument that Edwards is making, I get it on a personal level. He's right, it is personal.

I just hope the electorate wakes up SOON!

they have the intelligence/fight to know where to turn for appropriate advice. Good for you. Our times call for a fighter who will not auction off our rights to the biggest bidder.

in town who had to fight the same insurance company for what they were owed after their house burned down, we wouldn't have known where to turn for help. The attorney we had talked to didn't recommend a public adjuster (competition)but it's the public adjusters that have the experience and track record of getting the insurance companies to pay up. The other family, with the help of the same public adjuster we're using, recovered an additional $300K from the same insurance company we're fighting! We can't expect to get that, but we're hoping we'll get what we are owed.

The insurer is USAA.

United Services Automobile Association (USAA) is a Fortune 200 financial services company focused on providing banking, investing, and insurance to people and families that serve, or served, in the military of the United States and other selected federal agencies.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USAA


From their website:

Count On USAA

* We have a long history of providing great service, which is why we've been rated #1 in customer advocacy by Forrester Research. ²
* We maintain superior financial strength ratings for banking and insurance.
* USAA exhibits strong military values based on service, loyalty, honesty and integrity.

https://www.usaa.com/inet/ent_utils/McStaticPages?key=become_member_benefits

Yes, we need someone who isn't friendly with these big companies to take a stand with them. It is, after all, of the people, by the people, for the people. I don't see corporations mentioned. And no, corporations are not people.

The money and the media are well into electing our next President for us, and you are so right in your hope that the electorate wakes up quickly. They are pretty much cooperating with the powers that be, and they think they're so smart for supporting someone who says they're the change candidate.

But they haven't stopped to wonder how they can bring change when they are indebted to the powerful corporations. The truth is, they can't. They've taken the money, now they've compromised themselves and they must negotiate instead of fix the problem.

I don't know about you, but I want change, not another negotiation of the same old bad deal.

Best of luck to you with your insurance and mortgage companies. Let us know how it progresses.

it may be another 60 days. If we get what we're owed, we can pay off the mortgage. If we don't, we have to sell the lot to satisfy the mortgage.

The risk in telling the mortgage company we're not making any more payments until they reduce our loan balance and figure a new payment for us is they'll report us to credit bureaus and damage our credit rating.
We're not planning on buying another house, so we may just stop making payments.

Look how unresponsive these corporations are. They want their money but the service or functions they provide are nit picked to death, so by the time you are finished fighting with them, you barely get what you contracted for. If they were in charge of repairing roads, for example, what kind of response do you think you would get if you complained that a huge fallen tree was blocking your route to work? Nada.

All they seem to want is your money while providing minimal or no services. Can you just imagine the horrors going on in Iraq with all those contractors and subcontractors?

There is no accountability for them to actually do the right thing. They have no sense of fairness at all.

And I can imagine what a nightmare it is to live in Iraq. No wonder so many people have fled the country.

That's what good regulation should be about.

The insurance stories are the ones that anger me so deeply. You know, you just KNOW that the insurance company just decides to deny a certain percentage of claims for NO REASON AT ALL. Some manager whose compensation is tied to denying claims will usually fold and start denying, based on some "technicality".

And, on a different note, I pay the I.T. invoices for my company, and you'd be surprised how many companies just continue to bill you for service, even after you've cancelled it or disconnected it. It happens far to often to be just an innocent mistake.

Do you want the person making the decisions someone you can hire and fire every November, or someone who wants to extract as much money as possible from you?

I remember in 2003 or 04, a Japanese company bought a Wisconsin company (can't remember what the did--maybe a bank,). One of the first things they did was disband the company symphony orchestra. That blew my mind. I didn't think there were any of those left. Companies started doing that -- letting their employees take paid time during the work day to play music and then give performances in their community -- as a response to the Great Depression when so many companies revealed themselves to be blood sucking leaches on society who would foreclose on a farmer and jeopardize a fair, kind, functioning, equitable society, in order to protect profits.

We really have lost the sense that companies are responsible to their communities, even if the community cannot elect the CEO, and does not own stock.

Which allowed the creation and deregulation of both Citimortgage and the insurance agencies.

In other words, on numerous issues like this one (and the public housing issue, etc.)

It is NOT just Edwards and us vs. the Corporations,

It is Edwards and us vs. the Mainstream Democratic Establishment

which CREATED the status quo as an alternative to the New Deal,

And does not intend to CHANGE them.

by us after getting our letter (see post 98) I'm going to write Dodd's Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

The supervisor that I talked to at Citimortgage that pissed me off so badly I knew I had to get an intermediary (attorney) to intervene for us said, "Well, you know we have to protect our interests."

That's all these a$$holes think about--how can they maximize their return. Doing the right thing
is not something that ever occurs to them.

Deregulation has improved only one industry for the CONSUMER: the airlines and the SMART airlines will survive even if they are re-regulated.

Good luck--you have my admiration and I support your candidate as well!

I have to differ with you, though, on the airlines. It drives me nuts to fly, now, and it's not all
the farcical security screening at the airports, either.

I don't see any kind of consumer concern on the part of most airlines.

I remember when flying was for the wealthy only and that colors my thinking. Dereg made prices fall into the real world and I think that's a good thing. :hi:

of flying.

I grew up riding trains (wearing white gloves) across country because my Dad didn't like flying.

and your candidate and agree 100% with your reasoning behind it!

They must be teaching them (Insurance) people? Deniy ever-thing! or if that don't work - Low ball ever-thing! or if that don't work DELAY Ever-thing! or any of the above combination. Why? Because MONEY is GOOD (boy a return of the 80 slogan?)

Edwards would be the BEST (only) one to fight this whole premise - we OWE them, and what can WE do for them, will they just play nice philosophy


I,m Hearing more stories like this - it making me sic!!!
Hang in there - don't let them screw ya

John Edwards 2008 (For the people, By the people.)

except our family and pets all survived. People say, 'it's all just stuff', but it's the memories
embedded in the stuff that's so hard to lose. All the videos of our kids growing up are gone. A few photos in albums didn't completely burn up, but may be reproduced using a computer. I'm an actor/writer and all the videos of my work are gone; all my journals, manuscripts, notes, computer was destroyed. All our financial records were destroyed. Doing taxes this year is going to be a guessing game. My husband is a psychiatrist
and his library of books accumulated through 40 years of practice is gone. The list goes on of what is gone.

Take that as the backdrop of how we're being treated by the insurance and mortgage companies and you can't help but begin to understand that they JUST DON'T CARE! You aren't going to make nice with these people
when they are so incapable of responding to their customers/clients in a personal way.

when someone says "It's just things."

Yes, you can probably replace a lot of it through insurance (If someone fights the @)!(%#*) companies for you!), but *I* can't and won't ever be able to.

What do you do without an iron? What do you do without a table to eat at? What do you do without your towels and a dish drainer? (Not to mention the dishes!) Those aren't replaced without $$$, and living on disability means you don't have $$$.

People are harsh and cruel in their words because they don't want to empathize. Or aren't capable.

We're a sad nation.

I wish you the best. It's a struggle, and you have an uphill battle ahead of you, but I hope it comes out well. :pals:

And, thanks for putting in a good word for Edwards! :yourock:

is making payments to us on our contents policy without much trouble. But have you ever tried to create an inventory of everything that was in your house? The video that my son and husband took of everything in the house several years ago was supposed to be in the safe deposit box. It wasn't there. By some extremely good fortune, one file from a metal file chest that fell out of the burning house and rolled down the hill had receipts for some furniture purchases in it. Some of the photos that didn't completely burn up from our photo albums were pictures of the house we lived in previously, and showed some of our antiques. So far, our inventory is running 100 pages, with over 1300 entries, and it's not finished.

I am so sorry you are struggling with homelessness. While we were depending upon the kindness of neighbors until we could move into a rental house, the thought occurred to me that we were homeless. When I tell people our story, I tell them how lucky we were to have neighbors. Folks who lost their homes because of Katrina weren't so lucky; there were no neighbors there to help them because the neighbors were in the same situation! It really brings home the notion that the idea of community--of neighborhood--extends beyond
one street over.

When will we ever get it? :loveya:

... allowed the lax security that enabled the 9/11 attacks. How much has the public paid for that error?

by the Gore Commission (yes that Gore) because of cost (read bottom line to share holders)contributed greatly to the 9/11 attacks. El Al secured their cockpits years and years previously.

:hug: I admire Al Gore...soo much!
--John Edwards is determined to be a voice for families, like yours.
That's why I am voting for him--
for my family and every other family (rich and poor) in America, who have no other voice!

We really do need a president that will be an advocate for us...
That's the CHANGE America NEEDS!

I hope everything works out OK and I want you to know, I care! :hug:

:hi:

they can influence government.

I think it was George who made his first stop at a Rotary Club in Tallahassee (?) when he came to Florida after a win. He came to thank them.

One has to wonder what he knew then, that I know now.

oh yeah...

:sarcasm:

to fight for them?

(And, actually, he has proposed regulations to prevent bad lawyers from practicing -- I forget the details, but I think it was some kind of professional sanction once you've had 3 cases dismissed after a motion for summary judgment for failure to state a claim, like you can't file a claim a medical malpractice claim for a year.)

I know if Edwards could get the media exposure that Obama is getting, his numbers would go up dramatically.

The 2004 election was stolen by corporations, Edwards remained silent.

The Iraq war was pushed for by corporations, and waged by corporations. Edwards didn't bother to read the Iraq NIE...and then voted for the war....giving corporations billions in loot.

Why would he start fighting now ?

so I'm not sure what your point is. Hillary was on the Board of Wal-Mart, for God's sake. Her old law firm
helps companies avoid unionization.

Obama has done squat to stop funding the Iraq war.

So there's plenty to go around for all candidates to oppose them based on their past history. Obama talks about hope all the time; well, I'm hoping John Edwards will return to his past experience as a fighter for the little guy in the courtroom and take it to the national level to fight for us all.

His record says something else.

and, well, fighting corporations says something else?

Meanwhile Hillary & Obama are kissing corporate a$$ and are more than ready to serve their masters IF-GAWD FORBID-the time comes.

Edwards may not have challenged the 04 elections because he was following Kerry's lead. Maybe Kerry promised Edwards that he would look into it and then blew him off? How do you know what happened? None of us do.

And yeah, Edwards made a huge mistake with the Iraq War and he has readily admitted to it and is willing to go the distance to fix it.

Which is a helluva lot more than a$$ kissing warmongering corporatists Hillary or Obama will EVER do. They make me SICK. :puke:

The corporations don't live by it, the Republicans think it's "do unto others before they can do unto you".

as an in your face statement to the powers that be.

Too bad they will NEVER listen.

:loveya:

but the admins won't let me. :shrug:

:hi:

Kerry said no.

Along with the banks and oil companies.

Guess what? It costs less, covers more, and because it makes the government (and therefore society) bear the costs of accidents, the government spends a lot of time making roads safe and making sure people drive safely. If I remember correctly, traffic fatalities and accidents are down too.

incentives for people to take health seriously and take the incentive for insurance companies to deny
coverage for services out of the equation.

I know a couple whose home was robbed and the way the insurance coverage was broken down they got little for the stuff they actually owned. For instance, the policy covered furs-like who in the hell wears fur in the Pacific Northwest?!!! Meanwhile, all their antiques weren't covered because there was a set limit for antiques. Of course, none of this was explained to them when they bought their home owners insurance.


Anyway, I'm sorry that you are being ripped off. It is CRIMINAL what is being done to you! And to all of us!


Those who are voting for Hillary or Obama have not been screwed over yet by these corporations so they don't get it. Someday they will get a VERY RUDE awakening, NO doubt about it.


BTW, my family has been screwed over by a major corporate entity and so yeah, it's personal for me too! :grr:

with these companies. They change their tune once they've been treated shabbily.

It's like the story our family physician told me (the pro-choice activist in a small Missouri town where we lived in the early 90's)once their daughter gets pregnant, the anti-abortion types are in his office asking where do they go to take care of it?

I'm sorry you've been screwed, too. :hug:

:hug:

:spank: for the insurance/mortgage companies

We need that smilie around here.....it sure would come in handy! :evilgrin:

Profiteering from Katrina foreclosures and subprime lending

"As a presidential candidate, Democrat John Edwards has regularly attacked subprime lenders, particularly those that have filed foreclosure suits against victims of Hurricane Katrina. But as an investor, Mr. Edwards has ties to lenders foreclosing on Katrina victims.

"The Wall Street Journal has identified 34 New Orleans homes whose owners have faced foreclosure suits from subprime-lending units of Fortress Investment Group LLC<5>. Mr. Edwards has about $16 million invested in Fortress funds, according to a campaign aide who confirmed a more general Federal Election Commission report. Mr. Edwards worked for Fortress, a publicly held private-equity fund, from late 2005 through 2006," Christopher Cooper wrote August 17, 2007, in the Wall Street Journal Online.<6>
Profiteering from Katrina foreclosures and subprime lending

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=John_Edwards

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/10/AR2007051002277.html

Edwards said yesterday that he recalls being told at the time of his hiring that some of Fortress's private equity holdings did lend to start-up businesses, which is why he asked about predatory lending practices. But he could not recall whether the firm's partners told him it had a major stake in Green Tree.

"Those are the things I remember," he said. "They may have told me more." Had he learned that Fortress owned a loan servicer with a history of predatory lending practices, he said, "I would have asked some very specific questions about it."

snip

Last month, Edwards announced a plan to fight predatory lending. He said that an increase in subprime loans and predatory mortgages was resulting in a surge of foreclosures that risked "devastating communities," and that "shameful lending practices . . . are compromising our strength as a nation."

snip

Edwards said he asked Fortress this week to find Katrina victims foreclosed on by Green Tree and to help them. "I said, 'This is not okay that this is happening,' " he said. "I don't know how many cases there are . . . but the right thing is to go back and fix this."

is Kucinich!

We have a joint responsibility for what has happened to our country. All have accommodated and compromised, gone along to get along, looked the other way, made excuses, and denied and avoided the truth one way or another.

None of us have clean hands.

I'm glad you and your family weren't hurt.
It sounds like a nightmare!

consumer advocacy TV channel, but no response, so far. And the house hasn't been demolished yet (the insurance company won't let us) even though it's been condemned. One of our neighbors asked Hubby this a.m.
when he was over there if we've thought of just walking away--let the mortgage company fight with the insurance company over the valuation of the house so they can get the loan paid off. Trouble with that is,
if they foreclose, they'll sell the lot for less than it's worth and use the money to pay themselves off and the insurance company will get by with NOT paying what they owe us, and we won't get the money we should have from the sale of the lot.

It's just a giant mess.

Stick to your guns.

Please try the web site the rip off reports they are very sucessfull at this tho its a shame that this is the only recourse people have. Law firms carouse this sit looking for class action law suits they will respond to you its a shame you have to shame them to do whats right

I live in Carrboro. We own several houses in Chapel Hill. I actually thought about switching to USAA, I'm glad I read this first!

I agree that you should get your story to the Edward's campaign. The headquarters are right over in Southern Village. I think it would be
a good one, many people could relate to this.

I hope things work out for y'all! :hug:

DC is poisoned with the greed & graft of big business.

They may change their tune if it means the loss of their license to do business in their state.

Here's the link in case anyone wants to go there to make a comment.

http://blog.johnedwards.com/story/2008/1/12/144555/553

Frederick Douglass, 1857. (link) Sums up our situation pretty well, and what should be Edwards' campaign motto.

please give up their slaves.

Uh, yes, it took a Civil War to make that happen.

See if they'll talk about it. I think it would be a good one to add to their repertoire of real-world stories of folks getting screwed by these bastard insurance and mortgage companies - and other corprats.

There was a time in this country when the people mattered, big business can still make profits, and do so honorably, and without slave labor or fleecing people. It's the problem here and everywhere where the big corporations set up shop. John Edwards will fight those who put profits before humanity.

He's not anti-business, he's for accountable practices in business, honesty. There's not one protection that hasn't been overturned by BushCo, his admin lined their pockets and stripped away accountability on a massive level. We're going the way of third world countries while they tell us all is well.

John Edwards is about a return to accountability and integrity, honoring America and restoring all the founding fathers had in mind. IT IS PERSONAL!

K & R

get out his message; it means accountability and these corporations are not going to give up power willingly. I don't know why average people don't get that. Those who have experienced these nightmares get it instantly.

I hope your lawyer can get this resolved quickly.

All these years you have paid higher rates for REPLACEMENT value coverage, too. It's outrageous.

I hope you were able to save family photos.

contents adjuster was actually quite helpful in showing us how to separate and dry out the photos that were burned around edges. We will be able to scan, crop, and print from a computer to have duplicates.
All the videos of the kids growing up are gone; all the enlarged photos hung on a hallway wall that we called our rogues gallery are gone.

and will only take a few hours of your time and by the way the mere threat of what I am suggesting often gets the job done. Go to the BBB web site and make a detailed complaint separately about both companies and how you expect the complaint should be resolved. The companies named will respond to this but I can't say how. My several complaints have been resolved quickly to my benefit. Also send a copy of the complaint to the DA especially if he/she is a democrat (unlikely), then send a copy to the Banking Commission laying out your complaint in detail then if you have the time and know of any Democrats in congress like Kucich who might help on an issue like this go for it. Thats being a squeaky wheel and it sometimes works to put a fire under them for all of these are black marks on their record and reputation and if they accumulate the co is in trouble. Also while you are on BBB (Better Business Bureau) check what complaints have been made against these co's., another arrow in your quiver to be written into the complaints and that is why they do not like these complaints to stand unresolved. In my experience the only way the complaint will not stand as a black mark is that it be resolved. Sorry to hear about your troubles but this may give you some satisfaction even if its just the nanner, nanner, nanner type and it certainly will be a thorn in their side. There must be an insurance commission also. Squeaky wheels can teach these big guys not to fool with you and squeaky wheels have gotten me out of more citations like this than I care to mention.

it is right up his ally. Not only would it be another mark on his presidential resume he is one of the best lawyers for the underdog in the country. The fear of the publicity alone would force these crooked corporations to pony up tut suit. Just imagine the fright of these scumbags when realizing that this story would be retold at every stump speech.

those diaries, and if they think it's something Edwards ought to know about, they'll bring it to his attention. I don't want to have the appearance of trying to use Edwards for my own purposes.

I have previously used the BBB for a complaint that did end up resolved to my satisfaction. Thanks for the suggestion. I will pursue it.

They got the check and made it out for $644.20, this made three or four other checks after that bounce. I was livid. No one was there in person, so I went all the way from Tuscaloosa to Birmingham to Alabama Power's HQ and raised hell. I told them I wanted them to pay all the bounce fees, late fees, and give me my money they owed me in cash NOW!

They threated me with the police, and I said, "Good, that is over $500 which is a felony in Alabama. I'll press charges on the CEO for theft, after I call all 4 networks to watch me get dragged out and why. I know three reporters on 2 channels and they all know one another and will love this one."

I got my money ASAP, the fees, and a handfull of apologies to the various banks and creditors whom they had stiffed due to their error. After that, I always wrote "Public Power for all Alabama NOW" or some variation of it on the envelope when mailing the check.

It has been war since then, and I am so glad to be in TVA territory again!

here where I can go in and raise hell. Citimortgage makes it as difficult as possible to even get a phone number where you can talk to someone; I talked to India about 3 times, someone in Texas once who gave me a number to call where I had to leave a message, the person who called back left a message on my voice mail giving me the number in India to call again! That's when I resorted to the website, sending an e-mail asking for the phone number for the office that handled insurance checks and about a week later they sent me a phone number that actually connected to the office I wanted--and of course, that's when the real fun began.

If we ever get another real estate loan, I'm not going for one that can be sold. Period.

Man, you got that right! Go Edwards, go!!!

This sounds like something out of a John Grisholm novel - unbelievable! But it is precisely the kind of story the Edwards campaign would pay attention to. It IS personal, and sadly probably resonates with thousands of Americans. Do you have a sympathetic Congress critter?

Best of everything to your family.

made here and on Edwards site and dailykos to follow up with some appropriate Congressional officials and BBB.

I'm also determined to put Citimortgage on notice they're getting no more payments until they
reset our monthly payment based on the new loan balance.

We're going to play the insurance company disagreement out with the help of the public adjuster, who has advised that we'll probably see a decision within 30-60 days, now that we have our own appraisal of the replacement value of the house.

I might actually think he was for real.

self serving empty rhetoric is about as useful as a pile of stinking sh*t. And yes we all know about the vote on the war which he has apologized for. Welcome to DU???

for one. Oh, and saying "I'm Sorry" for voting for the war doesn't mean squat to me and likely the thousands of parents out there who will never see their child again because .... ooops, he made a fau paux but he's "sorry".

the cause. He's been through it.

He also recognized the need for the Patriot Act to have a sunset clause and fought for it.

I refer you to this interview:

http://www.tcf.org/Publications/HomelandSecurity/candidatetracking.pdf

caution to the winds--along with the need to balance interests of NC constitutents--and is, I believe,
campaigning from his heart. Facing the mortality of your life's partner can make you do that, after already
facing the loss of your first-born.

So I'm not so concerned about his past voting record (which didn't thrill me as a NC constitutent). I'm more concerned with judging whether the guy is for real now.

here, John Edwards website, and dailykos, I've written the following letter to CitiMortgage:


On October 30, 2007 you received a letter from me with an enclosed check in the amount of $272,883.48 paid by our insurance company, USAA, requesting that it be applied to the principal balance of our loan and that we be informed of the amount of our new monthly payment based upon the remaining $167,116.52 balance of our interest only loan.

To date we have not received word of our new monthly payment, despite repeated
requests from both me and our attorney, xxxxxxx xxxxxxxx, with xxxxxx xxx xxxxxxx in
Chapel Hill.

This letter is being written to inform you that no further payments on this loan will be forthcoming until we receive the notification of the new payment amount which we requested over two months ago. There is no excuse for the contemptible way in which CitiMortgage has failed to respond to our request, which is only being made because we are fighting our insurance company over the replacement value in the effort to secure full payment for the loss of our home by fire on August 28,2007, so that the loan may be paid off without resorting to sale of the lot. We are attempting to do the right thing by continuing to make payments on the burned down house and CitiMortgage doesn't even have the courtesy to respond to our requests. For that reason, unless we have a response, in writing, within a week from the date this letter is received by CitiMortgage, we will be filing formal complaints with the Better Business Bureau, our Congressional Representative David Price, Senators Elizabeth Dole and Richard Burr, Representative John Conyers, Chair of the House Judiciary Committee, and Senator Christopher Dodd, Chair of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.


Sincerely,

and we are sending this letter to the insurance company:

Enclosed is a copy of a check that was issued October 4, 2007 by USAA to us and CitiMorgage, Inc in the amount of $272,883.48. We endorsed the check and sent it to CitiMortgage. They claim to have deposited the check against our loan #xxxxxxxxxx-x on November 5,2007, but have not used it to reduce the balance of the loan.

We would like confirmation that this check has been cashed by CitiMortgage, Inc.
Please send us a photocopy of the endorsed check. We would like to provide verification
to our attorney in Chapel Hill, xxxxxxx xxxxxxxx of xxxxxx xxx xxxxxxx, in her inquiries regarding just what CitiMortgage is doing with these funds.

Thanks very much.

Sincerely,


If we don't get any answer from Citimortgage within the one week time frame given them in the letter,
I"m going to send the whole story not only to everyone mentioned, but also the Edwards campaign and the local media.

Boy, have I had enough of these greedy a$$holes. The air has been blue around here while I was writing the letters.

:kick:

Before either fairytale rears up and bites US!

This is why we need a fighter!

:kick:

which I have gone on-line and given. But I used the opportunity to tell them a little about this story, that I had posted it here, dailykos, and on the Edwards website. The person seemed quite interested.

I mailed the letter to Citimortgage this a.m. telling them no more payments from us until they refigure
our payment by using that check to reduce our loan balance. I told the campaign caller that I was sending the letter (certified, return receipt)giving them a deadline, and if they didn't meet it I was going to file complaints, and that I also might just make a visit to the campaign office here in Chapel Hill, because IMO, this story illustrates what Edwards is talking about regarding the need to fight.

I have been on-line and found the complaint form to use for the NC Commissioner of Banks, as well as the BBB.

Ask any labor or community organizer and they'll tell you the most important thing is working together. Unity. Its the only way to get it done. There's nothing corporations fear more than a public unified to work together toward their common interests.

It's in their own interest to stall...they're making more money off your suffering.

I agree...this is why corporate America is doing everything in its power to marginalize Edwards. It's shameful.

.

how are we to know? Do I believe them? Of course not.