Johns Is. man sues over misplaced records

For David Hair, a simple home refinancing turned into a nightmare.

The Johns Island resident restructured his mortgage in late 2005 without problems, but when he began sending his monthly payments to Countrywide Home Loans, company representatives told him they had no record of his loan.

Hair, who owns a construction company, knew better than to think he was free of paying off his newly built residence.

Instead, he became a frantic homeowner in search of his property's financial records.

He tried calling the California-based lender's home office several times each month, waiting on hold for hours and dealing with representatives who he said were rude and couldn't help him. He even visited a local Countrywide office without results.

"They thought I was crazy," Hair said. "They kept saying, 'You do not have a loan with us.' "

The problem kept him awake at night as he worried about losing his home because of a paperwork error.

He said he started drinking "too much" and distanced himself from his friends who didn't understand his hardship.

"It totally consumed me," he said. "It caused problems with my business, my marriage — everything."

Finally, six months later, someone at Countrywide found his account. They had been sending his statements to somewhere in Lexington, and now that they had corrected their records, more than $5,000 in missed mortgage payments and an array of late charges were due. Immediately.

Now, though the payment issue has been resolved, Hair is suing Countrywide over his ordeal.

And he's not the first.

Homeowners and other groups across the country have filed a wave of lawsuits against the lender, each typically saying that the company's actions led to unnecessary hardships.

Some said they faced losing their home because of simple mortgage processing errors and several state attorney general offices have questioned the lender's judgement in doling out loans.

"I feel for anyone who has to deal (with them)," Hair said. "Not everyone could have afforded to make that $5,000 payment."

Lawyers for Countrywide denied any wrongdoing in their formal response to the Hair lawsuit. The initial complaint claims that he suffered emotional and financial damage.

Hair said he needed to take out business loans before Countrywide could erase its claims that he was more than 120 days late on his mortgage payments, crippling his credit score.

As a result, he had to "borrow monies from other sources at unfavorable terms, at a great deal of expense to him," the lawsuit said.

Earlier this year, the Atchleys of Atlanta told a story of similar hardship to Congress during a hearing where federal lawmakers questioned business practices at Countrywide, which was purchased by Charlotte-based Bank of America in July.

John and Robin Atchley said they tried unsuccessfully to make up payments missed after a death in their family, according to Senate records. The parents of four young children gave up their fight against Countrywide after the lender continued to pile on unexplained fees, Robin Atchley told lawmakers.

At the same hearing, Countrywide executive Steve Bailey told lawmakers that his company was committed to reducing employee errors.

He said that they had added staff and implemented new policies in an attempt to improve their service, according to a record of his testimony.

Reach Katy Stech at 937-5549 or kstech@postandcourier.com.