WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The US mortgage service company Green Tree Servicing LLC is set to pay $63 million for administering illegal loan and debt collection services to US homeowners, according to the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
“A national mortgage servicing company will pay $63 million to resolve Federal Trade Commission and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) charges that it harmed homeowners with illegal loan servicing and debt collection practices,” the FTC said on Tuesday. “The FTC and CFPB allege that Green Tree Servicing LLC made illegal and abusive debt collection calls to consumers.”
Green Tree will pay $48 million to the victims of its services and an additional $15 million in penalties, and must stop its alleged practices while creating a home preservation plan for affected homeowners and taking steps to ensure correct collection of service debts from their consumers, according to the FTC.
“It’s against the law for a loan servicer to lie about the debts people owe, or threaten and harass people about their debts,” FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection Director Jessica Rich said in a statement on Tuesday.
Additionally, Green Tree failed to honour loan modifications and misrepresented the amounts consumers owed or the terms of their loans, the FTC added.
Green Tree services home mortgages, refinancing, home equity loans and other financial accounts while assisting US borrowers and consumers, according to the company’s website.
