I am increasingly fielding calls and emails where lenders have kicked down doors, changed locks and terrorized homeowners….all under the premise that they were “securing” or “winterizing” property. The fact that this practice is occurring across this country should be terrifying to every single citizen–whether you are involved in foreclosure or not.
Let me make sure the facts and the law is very clear here…..no person….noone…has any right to trespass on another’s property and they certainly do not have the right to commit one of the most serious property crimes…burglary….without an order signed by a judge that gives the person a right to enter that property. The thing that terrifies me most about this is law enforcement is turning a blind eye to this phenomena…incorrectly asserting that such actions are civil matters not actionable by law enforcement. This phenomena represents the latest and one of the most troubling example of the fundamental break down in basic rights.
PLEASE HELP ME COLLECT EXAMPLES OF THIS PHENOMENA. I WANT TO ENCOURAGE ANYONE WHO IS IMPACTED BY THIS CRIME TO CONTACT LAW ENFORCEMENT AND DEMAND THAT THEY INVESTIGATE THE CRIME THEN FORWARD THE REPORTS TO ME.
I recognize that this may be an uphill fight and that you may have to work hard to convince law enforcement that this is in fact a crime but I implore anyone who is affected by this to insist that these crimes be reported.
WHAT KIND OF A COUNTRY DO WE LIVE IN IF WE ARE ALLOWING JACK BOOTED THUGS TO KICK DOWN ANY DOOR THEY PLEASE WITH NO FEAR OF PROSECUTION?
What does this say about law enforcement and the courts if they will stand idly by and allow these crimes to continue unpunished?
Matt;
I have been auditing your web site for a couple of months now and say BRAVO to YOU. You are a TRUE American HERO.
Regarding your request for comments on Lender’s ” winterizing” fraud here is my contribution.
In January 2009, I was staying with my disabled brother in his house assisting him with his recent diagnosed blindness and cancer. He passed away Jan 2010 at only 48 years old. God bless his soul.
On one Winter Saturday morning around 10 AM I heard someone jiggling on the front door knob. No knock, no doorbell rings. I opened the door to find two ” youthful” (early 20’s) blue-collar type rogues with a lock-popping tool and asked them loudly, ” What in the HELL are you doing? He stammered obviously startled by my booming voice. He replied I have a work order and am here to change the locks and winterize this home ” pre-foreclosure”.
I responded angrily Buddy, can’t you see the four cars in the driveway that this home is occupied”? He responded I have a work order pointing to his clipboard with probably 50 sheets of paper on it. I grabbed it out of his hand and sure enough my brothers Mortgage Company had ordered locks to be changed and for the home to be winterized.
I responded to the rogue that this is an ” illegal attempt to collect a debt” that he had absolutely no rights to trespass or enter any home with that work order. I told him to wait on the porch and closed the door. I rousted my brother from his prescription drug induced sleep to find out that he was ” 3″ months behind on his mortgage. I took the work order made a copy of it and went back to the front door with my digital camera.
I told the rogues that they were trespassing and that I was calling the police. I snapped pictures of them and their panel work truck parked in the street. The rogues said that they did not know the home was occupied and that they will just leave. I said “˜dumb-ass” look in the driveway you walked past four automobiles to get to our front door and you did not know that this home was occupied. I told him he was a liar that nobody was that stupid and told him to stay where he was because the police will be here in a minute. (I had not called the police).
He argued with me that he will just leave then grabbed his clipboard from my hands we struggled and I physically threw him off the porch onto the front yard. The other Rogue just stood there and stared at me. I said you are next asshole. I said I am going to go get my gun and I am going to shoot both of you right here where you stand. (It is legal to shoot trespassers in the State of Georgia after they refuse the first warning to leave) They ran off jumped into their truck and drove away and my guess is the quit that job that day!
I drew up a document for my brother to sign giving me authority to communicate with his mortgage company. I wrote a scathing 5 page letter to his mortgage company addressed it to the CEO then sent it overnight immediately the following Monday morning to the CEOs residential address in NYC.
The thrust of the letter was that I was going to ask the County Prosecutor to have the CEO arrested and I was going to invite the National Media to attend his arrest and arraignment.
A short 10 days later, the CEO’s response was delivering a permanent loan modification to my brothers address reducing my brothers monthly PITI payment by 50% with his first payment not due for three months. No request for income or asset documents, no application, nothing.
I will assert that this was the FASTEST Loan Modification in history!
remedy( just shoot em)
This just happened to me, you would not believe the damage TDBank did under the pretense of wintering and securing my home. I was almost in foreclosure, I had missed 4 months but was able to make full payment when I returned to work. They cut every plumbing line, took apart all the faucets, stole my toilets and expensive shower head. Broke all the locks, undid all dead bolts, broke the framing to the door. Took my curtains down and used it for their destructive plumbing. I have photos of all the damage and a video.
I will go to the bank tomorrow and ask for a copy of the court order.