According to Glenda, she paid $600 to get her home re-appraised after Citibank suspended her home equity line of credit. All to no avail, as she has been unable to get Citibank to reopen her line of credit, even though the appraisal shows she has equity in her home.
If you are in Minnesota, contact The Glover Law Firm, LLC, for a free case evaluation. In any other state, you can find a consumer rights lawyer using the National Association of Consumer Advocates lawyer database.
{ 22 comments… read them below or add one }
I have another question: Why are there ads on this page and everywhere I go on the internet for lost cost, low interest equity lines from Chase, Countrywide and others? This is downright bizarre. Scary.
Indeed. I run ads to help defray the cost of this website, but I have very limited control over what ads appear.
Thanks for your reply, Sam. I wasn’t commenting about you or the site, but about the fact that these lenders continue to advertise all over the internet about their great home equity loans at less than 5%. Given that they are indiscriminately cutting off their customers who have excellent credit, no missed or late payments and still have equity to secure the credit lines, it strikes me as sinister, dishonest and unfair to continue to advertise these loans to the unwitting and unsuspecting consumer. These ads are everywhere!
I had the same problem with Citibank. I called the number on the letter they sent me and I was advised to get another appraisal to have my home equity line of credit restored. I specifically asked who I needed to use to have the home appraisal completed by and I was told by any certified appraisal company. I paid three hundred dollars to have this done and I am now told that this appraisal won’t work since I didn’t go through LSI. I was never informed once to use LSI. I am working on filing a report with consumer protection if anyone else is interested let me know.
Brian
I’ve been stung, too. Worse, I am in the middle of a remodel with all demolition done (paying as work progresses, I owe the contractor for the demo) and just received the happy news that my HELOC is frozen at the current balance (more than $100,000 less than the limit).
I thought that there is a Federal law that prohibits a lender from REQUIRING a specific appraisal firm, especially when that firm is charging more than market rates.
I take the position that since Citibank has unilaterally decreased my appraised value (ergo, the decrease in the credit line), Citibank must justify this with a written appraisal, just as they are asking me to pay for one to justify why their decrease was arbitrary and capricious.
Never piss off an attorney like me. You may be seeing some news about a class action suit on this scam. (Citi would be happy to give me a non-secured loan at 3x the interest rate – illogical in that if I can pay that, why can/would I not pay the HELOC). Meanwhile, please file complaints with your state and federal regulators.
I recently had 6000 taken from our equity line that we were planning to use to pay our 4000+ property taxes and mortgage. I have been wrongly putting money in the equity line and using it like a savings account. Thinking I was doing the right thing, paying down the mortgage with my husband’s quarterly commission checks until we needed the money. I had been told by bank advisors that this was fine. So I deposited the last check for 6000 and then went to use it and it was gone. And yes Citibank admits they did not inform us first. They said it was based on property values decreasing. I thought they should give us written notice first. although they may not be obligated by law, it seems they should as a courtesy for families that do all their banking with them and have so for close to 10 years. And have never missed a pyament, etc. I think it will be interesting to see what happens .
Same problem. We owned ZERO on our equity line. We were going to use it to help our daughter go to grad school. We made numerous phone calls. I found out, from 2 different sources, that their policy is that once your line has been suspended, they will not reopen it for 6 months. We are having problems getting them to terminate their interest. We have to still pay the prepayment penalties, since they didn’t terminate it, they just suspended it. What a crock. We are trying to refi them out.
We offered to redo the line–reduce the limit, etc, no avail. We refi’ed it with broker that uses Citibank. Funny–the appraisal on the new loan–which their first mortage side would accept, was $1000 less than what the equity line folks said my house appraised at when we first got the line. There was still plenty of equity. we have perfect credit.
This bank deserves to fail.
We are one of the many who also had their HELOC reduced by Citi. We tried to dispute it, but were told our home value had decreased. According to our property tax statement, we have a 63% loan to value ratio. We sent a second letter asking what their loan to value requirement was and received another letter stating that the reduction was in part based on information received from Equifax, but did not answer our question regarding loan to value ratio. We looked into that information and found that our credit score was 785. Our conclusion is that they do not want to lend money to us because our interest rate is only 3%. If someone finds a remedy to this situation or a class action suit…count us in.
In October 16, 2008, stating ‘IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR HOME EQUITY LINE OF CREDIT SUSPENSION OF YOUR LINE OF CREDIT.”
The letter was to inform me that “home values in your area have declined” and not because of my payment history or credit. I called Citibank, N.A. to discuss the option of “locking in my rate” of my adjustable equity line to no avail.
Their representative told me that due to the suspension on my line of credit, that option is no longer available to me. If I did want to lock in my rate, it would not be at the current rate (prime minus .01%) but rather at a rate of 7.00% – 10.0%. Again, this is based on the fact that the credit line is suspended!
I have requested a copy of my loan documents and truth in lending statement for review by my attorney.
I received my letter from Citi Mortgage in September 2008. The letter indicated a recduction that left me with $5,000 in credit. Sice it was not an inconvenience at the time, I called them in February to discuss a re-evaluation and were told to wait until March when it will be six months since the notice was issued. I called in mid March and found that Citi bank is reviewing applications for consideration however I MUST use their appraiser LSI and arrange payment directly with them and I will need to submit the appraisal directly to Citi. So I called LSI to find out the cost and were told that it costed $575 (note this is the ONLY appraiser Citi will accept). I laughed and told the person I spoked to that they should be ashamed but realized that it was not their fault but rather Citi for setting the scam to charge consumers a fee to help the bank correct their mistake to freeze my HELOC without sufficient information. I am floored and now concerned to spend the money and run the risk of not getting the increase requested and loose the money paid to LSI…! I appreciate any comments from anyone obtaining an increase from Citi. Thanks!!!!
I too have had my HELOC “suspended” due to lower valuation of my property. They reduced it substantially a year ago and when I started the appeal process I could see the handwriting on the wall. They have now suspended it. I called as a new customer and gave them the value of my property, and answered the questions the agent asked and she said that CITIBANK would lend me $121,200 under those conditions, but at 4% more minterest. I’m all for a class action. Just let me know. They need a lession.
Citi imposed a sudden and unannounced reduction in the credit limit on my home equity line of credit source account. My original credit limit was $218,000. The bank summarily and abruptly reduced and froze it at $128,000. I’ve never been late on a payment. My Citi credit-account balances have always trended downward, historically, and I have a high credit score. By suspending my credit without notice, the bank has deprived me of access to a line of operating credit that I need to live and perform my freelance job. Unfortunately, I’ve been parking all of my extra cash in this account — all paychecks and other receivables. I made a large payment/deposit of $17,250 to bring down the balance. This was all of my monthly cash buffer. I used the account to escrow my own property taxes and to save my quarterly income-tax payments. After depositing checks, I also would then use the account to pay my mortgage and HOA dues. All of this cash is now unavailable to me and causes me extreme financial hardship. The bank says it’s due to a decline in overall property values in my area. I received no notice of property-value reappraisal. I received no advance notice in writing of any kind. I called the Citi HELOC toll-free number and spoke with a customer service rep on 11/13/2009. I was then transferred to Ben, employee no. 7472657, who informed me of the situation and told me that Citi had the right to reduce my credit limit without notice. He instructed me to write a letter appealing the decision, which I wrote and mailed with delivery confirmation on 11/13/2009. I then went down to my local branch (Pier Ave., Hermosa Beach, Calif.) on the same day and spoke with Manuel (Manny), the loan officer on duty who basically reiterated what the others had already told me, and provided the added detail that the property had been subject to a blanket revalution — from $500,000 down to $345,000, which I vehemently dispute (the property is in Hermosa Beach). Manny helped me by transferring the remaining eligible cash balance (approx. $630) from the HELOC into my checking account. He then offered to make me a personal loan in the amount of $10,000 at a much higher interest rate. I’d like to get the credit line restored or, at the very least, to recover my $17,250 so I may continue paying my living expenses. On 11/24/09, I complied with the stipulations outlined in the Citi appeals process — submitting to a $350 home appraisal by LSI, which valued the property at $450,000, and sending Citi my most current mortgage statement showing the current first-loan balance of $138,000. This puts my loan-to-value ratio at 64%. We’ll see what happens next.
Error and omission: (‘… which valued the property at $415,000 …)
I would be interested in finding out what interest rate the people whose Heloc’s were frozen were paying. Mine was at 1.01% below prime. Since Citi was happy to loan a new customer in exactly the same situation as I am $121,200.00, but at 3.76% bto 4.76% interest increase, this action is truly just reneging on on their original commitment made when they looking for business in the mid 2000’s.
I would be interested in finding out what interest rate the people whose Heloc’s were frozen were paying. Mine was at 1.01% below prime. Since Citi was happy to loan a new customer in exactly the same situation as I am $121,200.00, but at 3.76% to 4.76% interest increase, this action is truly just reneging on on their original commitment made when they looking for business in the mid 2000’s.
I just received a letter yesterday from Citi freezing my HELOC with exactly the same language as everyone has stated. The basis was the “decline of property values in your area.” I live in the city of San Francisco, where property values have declined slightly but not precipitously. I had a HELOC line of $220,000 and it wasn’t even reduced — it was just frozen outright, with no notice. Fortunately, I had the foresight 5 months ago to take a $25,000 advance on the line just in case this happened and funded a CD with $10k and put another 10k in stocks (which have now doubled in value). That said, we need access to the line. For everyone’s information, I am a citigold customer and my rate was (is) Prime minus .75 We have A+ credit and my wife and I both have FICO scores over 770 and have never been late on any payment to anyone ever in our lives. So I agree that it does seem that Citi is trying to cut off the lowest interest rates to replace them with high ones.
I am absolutely gob smacked. I sent Citi a registered letter regarding my suspended Heloc. I just received a response saying they have reviewed my account and have reinstated my Heloc with a balance set to the amount I had been told they would lend a customer based on the information I gave them, including their “drive by” appraisal. I did not send them a new appraisal. I might add that I did submit a complaint to the Controller of the Currency as well. Their is hope after all. I would by happy to sebnd anyone interested a copy of my letter so they can see how I presented my argument to them.
Congratulations, Tom! I think you may be the first.
I don’t know if my complaint to the Controller of the Currency, or the fact that I mentioned that I was told that I qualified for a Heloc loan under their current guidelines or my logical presentation of all the facts did it Sam, or if it was a combinatiomn of all of it, but I am happy about it. I wish you all the same results as I obtained.
Tom, that is great news. I am in the same boat as Mark O. I just paid down $18K 60 days ago and then they suspended my line. Can I have the letter to Citibank, as well as the one you sent to the Controller of the Currency? What are the guidelines now for qualifying for HELOC?
Hi Lady. I would be happy to help. Send me an E-Mail and we can go fron there. tom8931p@aol.com
Hi Lady. Contact me at tom8931p@aol.com